How Could This Happen to Me?
by The Phoenix 001
Summary: What happens when Voldemort's daughter befriends Harry Potter and friends? What happens when she's dating the ever amazing Fred Weasley? Rated T for language and some romance stuff.
1. Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own any HP characters. I do not own JKR's plot, but the characters such as Phoenix, Elly, Ami, Kelly, Ally, Ashanti, Will, etc. are mine and only mine. The plot of this particular fanfic is mine as well.

Author's Note: Well, I decided to delete my first story attempt; there was too much conflict in the timeline. . . anyhoo. . .here's the story!

Elly Dalia woke up to the sound of a crying baby. She sighed. Ever since _that day _Elly has never really been the same. She forced herself to roll out of bed. As she walked passed the mirror in her room, she looked at herself. Elly never thought herself as ugly, but she also never thought herself as drop dead gorgeous either. Sure she had a fit body, long red hair, and amazingly blue eyes; but she always just thought herself normal on the "beauty scale". _How could this happen to me? _she asked herself as she walked to her daughter's room.

She opened the door and walked in. The second her baby saw her, she stopped crying and stared at Elly happily with her piercing blue eyes. Elly laughed to herself; yes, she was his great-great granddaughter. Elly made sure everything was okay; then walked out the door.

As soon as she closed the door, she began to cry again. _Typical,_ Elly thought to herself. The baby stopped crying immediately following the opening of the door.

"Phoenix," Elly moaned as she lifted her daughter into her arms, "why must you do this to me?"

Phoenix, the baby, giggled. _You're too smart for your own good,_ Elly chuckled. She carried Phoenix to the rocking chair that was in her room.

Elly couldn't help her mind from wandering to everyone's expression when she told them she was pregnant. . .

"_How in the world did that happen?" Erin, Elly's one year younger sister, yelled at her._

"_I was drugged!" Elly yelled back._

"_And how in the world did _that _happen!" Erin bellowed again._

"_I don't know!" Elly sobbed._

"_Erin, stop," Elly and Erin's legal guardian and also great grandfather said quietly. His blue eyes looked over his half moon spectacles. This was the first time Elly had ever seen Albus Dumbledore look worried._

_Everyone was quietly looking at each other until Dumbledore asked a simple one word question, "Who?"_

_Elly knew he was going to ask this question, but no matter how much she prepared for this question, she knew she would never be prepared._

Elly's thoughts wandered back to the present when she heard Phoenix's breathing become deeper and steadier. She carried her baby back to her crib and stroked Phoenix's fluffy red hair. _Poor Phoenix, she has no idea what lies ahead of her. . . she's so little. . . who would have thought that something so small could have so much power. . ._

Elly wandered back into her room and just lay there in her bed. _How am I going to explain this to everyone? I still haven't told Lily, and she's Phoenix's godmother! Or James. . . or even . . . Sirius. . . _She sighed and thought of when she asked her best friend Lily Evans and her husband to be Phoenix's godparents. The young Mrs. Potter received the "honor" happily and even accepted it when Elly didn't want to tell her who the father was. James mused that it was his best friend, Sirius Black. _"After all, you two have been fancying each other for years now." _But due to Sirius's reaction, James changed his theory.

_Sirius Black's normally handsome face was distorted with shock. "You had a. . . baby?" he tried to ask calmly._

_Elly tried to keep the tears from her eyes and didn't answer. She figured it was a rhetorical question, considering Sirius was holding the few month old Phoenix in his arms._

_After a very quiet moment, Elly said very quietly, "I'm sorry" as she tried to fight back the tears._

_Sirius looked at her sadly; he felt betrayed._

_The moment was ruined by Phoenix's restlessness. Elly sighed as she took Phoenix up to her room in their house in England._

_When she came back downstairs, Sirius was gone. She sat on the couch and began to cry in her hands. As she was doing this, she felt arms wrap around her. Elly knew who it was; she rested her head on his shoulder. _

"_It's okay, Elly. Tell me when you're ready," Sirius said quietly, and he lightly kissed her temple._

Elly found herself crying again, but this time Sirius wasn't here to comfort her. She found her thoughts drifting back to her sister. _It's all my fault. . . _she thought.

The American newspaper, The Oracle, had an article about her sister's death. _"No one knows the cause of her death" _was an excerpt of the article.

_I know, _Elly thought miserably. _Erin died because Phoenix is Voldemort's daughter. _


	2. After the Funeral

Disclaimer: OK people, I don't own any of JKR's characters or her plot, but I do own my characters (which makes sense. . .) such as Phoenix, Elly, and Kelly.

Author's Note: This chapter would be the paragraph after the last one in HP: HBP. . . Also in Harry's PoV. .

**WARNING: Spoilers—beware. . . contains spoilers for all 6 books. . . especially the sixth!**

He looked back at the crowd of people so Ron and Hermione couldn't see his happiness at their joining him in his quest to find Voldemort's Horcruxes. As he did this, he noticed two people stood prominent in the crowd.

Harry Potter, recently known as the Chosen One, squinted to get a better look at the two who were standing near the White Tomb. The first of the two was a middle-aged woman. She had shoulder length dark red hair; her blue eyes glittered with tears. She was dressed in a slim floor length black Muggle dress. The woman's arms were wrapped around a second person – a young woman about Harry's own age. This girl's hair was as black as the night, but her eyes were as blue as the middle- aged woman's. She too wore a black Muggle dress except hers had a thin white ribbon tied around her waist. A mix of mascara and tears ran in two thin streaks down either one of her cheeks. Harry knew he didn't know them, but something about the pair looked familiar.

"Do we know them?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione, finally breaking the silence.

"Know who?" Ron asked as he and Hermione moved next to Harry to get a better look at the pair.

"No, I don't think so," Hermione said, looking at the pair.

The woman appeared to be saying something to the girl; the girl nodded as the red haired woman walked over to who appeared to be Mrs. and Mr. Weasley. Meanwhile, the girl stood there, holding something that hung around her neck. It was a sad scene: the wind was blowing her black skirt and hair, and she was crying as she looked at the White Tomb where Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards of all time, lay.

The girl's attention was redirected to someone behind her. She quietly cried on his shoulder as he embraced her.

"Is that my _brother_ she's hugging!" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.

It was indeed true. The person she was hugging was definitely one of the Weasley twins, but the three couldn't tell which one it was.

"Well, yes, it is," someone said from behind them.

The three turned to see Ginny standing behind them.

"And why in bloody hell would they be hugging!" Ron yelled.

"They're dating," Ginny answered simply. Seeing the trio's shocked expression, she asked, "You didn't know that Phoenix and Fred are going out?"

The three were still confused but Ron was the worst. "Fred's dating a BIRD?" he asked, bewildered.

Ginny slapped her forehead, Harry gave him a "you-cannot-be-serious" look, and Hermione said, "Honestly, Ron, how could you be so thick!" Ron still looked confused so Hermione elaborated, "The girl's name is Phoenix!"

"Oooooooooooooooooh," Ron said, finally understanding.

"Anyway," Ginny continued, "you didn't know about Phoenix so you probably don't know about George and Kelly." Ginny sighed at their shocked expressions.

"Since when?" Ron asked surprised by how little he knew about his brothers.

"Well, Fred and Phoenix started dating a year ago, but Fred's been fancying her for a couple years now. And George and Kelly started dating sometime around Christmas. . . I knew that Fred and George would start going out with those two," Ginny stated.

Hermione queried, "So you've already met Phoenix and Kelly?"

"Yes, I met them during Christmas break during my fourth year. They're really nice; so's Elly." Seeing the once again confused looks on the trio's faces, she added, "Elly's Phoenix's mum."

Ron started to fire questions at Ginny so fast that she couldn't answer before the next one. After a minute or two of this, Ginny irritably said, "Why don't you just ask them yourself?" Then she dragged Ron over toward Phoenix and Fred while Harry and Hermione trotted after.

Ginny and Ron stopped in front of Fred and Phoenix (who were no longer hugging). Harry looked over Phoenix again now that she was right in front of him. She was pretty tall, almost his own height, but she was still a few inches shorter than Fred. She had a pretty body and face (even thought there was smeared mascara running down it). Overall, she was very attractive, but she didn't seem like Fred's type. First of all, Phoenix didn't seem mischievous at all! Harry also got the impression that she had money. He didn't quite understand why he thought this considering she wasn't wearing anything that might betray her financial status, yet he knew it was true. Harry also concluded that she was conceited; to him, she seemed like the type that would gloat about anything – especially being a pureblood. Even though he didn't necessarily like her, he got a nostalgic feeling from being around her. Unconsciously, he touched his scar; it felt weird. His scar wasn't hurting, but it didn't feel normal either. _Is this Phoenix girl doing this to me? _he thought.

Unexpectedly, a scene flashed before his mind's eye. It was like being in a Pensieve, but he could still hear what was going on outside of the memory. He saw a little girl who was about one playing with a little one year old boy. Harry could feel shock running through him: the boy was himself. He had "baby fuzz" black hair and almond shaped emerald green eyes. Harry looked quickly at the girl he was playing with. She had wispy red hair and her eyes were blue. . . amazingly blue. . .

Harry's memory was interrupted by Ron saying "And why are you dating her!" angrily to Fred. He sounded like he got the impression that Phoenix was a snob too.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Fred asked, getting angry himself.

"Well. . .she's, uh. . . she's . . . not your type!" Ron said lamely.

Fred looked very angry – almost like he was going to attack Ron. _Looks like Ron stepped over the line, _Harry thought, ready to come to his best friend's defense. Surprisingly, Fred turned around and was going to walk away, but Phoenix stopped him by saying, "I don't need everyone to like me, Fred. That's impossible, but I'd like at least to meet everyone before I go storming off with you.

Obviously, no one was expecting this so Phoenix began the intros. "I'm Phoenix Raven Alqua Riddalia," she said, offering her hand to no one in particular, "but just call me Phoenix."

Harry was the first to take her hand. "I'm Harry Potter." He noticed a familiar twinkling her amazingly blue eyes. _Like she knows a secret. . . _While Harry was still pondering over this, Hermione had already introduced herself, and Ron was doing so presently.

"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley. Sorry."

"Sorry about what?" Phoenix asked as she shook his hand. It appeared like she actually forgot about Ron's outburst that occurred only a moment before.

"And Ginny!" Phoenix said happily as she gave said person a friendly hug. "I haven't seen you in forever! How were your O.W.L.s?"

"They weren't _that_ bad," Ginny shrugged. "How are the girls?"

"Last time I checked, they were alive and breathing so they must be good," Phoenix smiled. "But they're still at school. . . so only Ami is really happy. . ."

Ginny laughed, "That's good. . . I hope. . . And how's your mum?"

Phoenix turned to look at the middle-aged woman who Harry saw earlier. Presently, the red haired woman was still talking with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. It also appeared that Bill and Fleur joined in the conversation. "I think she's fine," Phoenix replied after a moment. "We're used to it by now. . . but Dumbledore's death comes in second on 'The Most Devastating Deaths' list or maybe even third. . ."

"Who else is on the list?" Harry asked curiously.

Phoenix answered, "Well, my Aunt Erin's death is on there. . ." She paused before continuing quietly, "As well as your parents' and Sirius's."

Harry as well as the rest of the group was shocked by this comment. Phoenix answered their questioning gazes by saying, "Yes, my mom was best friends with your mom, Harry. My mom and Sirius also dated; I'm sure that they were engaged. I know! I was amazed when I heard that too! I found out when we helped hide Sirius for a while in one of our houses in America," she said.

"How come Sirius or Lupin or anyone never mentioned you or your mum!" Harry asked, excited by this new revelation.

Phoenix looked as if she never thought about it before. Then she said, "I don't know. . . Sirius would always talk to us about you, Harry. . . Maybe you aren't supposed to know any of this. I mean, I wasn't even supposed to know about the engagement thing."

"Then how did you find out?" Hermione inquired.

Phoenix smiled mischievously, "I'm not allowed to tell." After seeing the suspicious looks being thrown at Fred, she added, "And the twins had _nothing_ to do with it." _That explains one reason why Fred likes her, _Harry thought, referring to her air of mystery.

Fred fake pouted, "That's not fair! We would have helped, but we didn't know you until later that month!"

Phoenix smiled at Fred. "You didn't even know I was a witch until a month _after_ you met me."

Fred laughed, "It wasn't a _complete_ month!"

"What do you mean? How could they have not known you are a witch?" Ron questioned.

"I can't tell you today," Phoenix answered mysteriously.

"And why not?" asked Ron indignantly.

"Cause McGonagall's about to round y'all up," she replied in a fake yet convincing Southern accent.

Immediately following, Minerva McGonagall's voice said over all the noise, "Students, please return to your Houses to pack the remainder of your belongings. You have one hour until the Express leaves. Other guests please go to Hogsmeade; you can Apparate from there. Parents, please meet your children as you normally would at Platform 9 3/4." She added this last part reassuringly, "Don't worry; extra safety precautions have been placed. We have numerous Aurors positioned on the train. Now, students, if you would just follow me."

The large mob of people dispersed: the students following McGonagall back to Hogwarts while the others present began to head toward Hogsmeade.

As Fred and Phoenix were walking away, the latter called to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, "See you at the wedding!" before disappearing into the crowd.


	3. The Wedding, the Truth, and the Kiss

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize from any of the Harry Potter books, but I do own all that you don't recognize. Get it? Got it? Good.

Author's Note: Ok. . . this is a long chapter. . . longest I've ever written anyway. . . It's kind of weird but you need to know all this stuff. And if Tennis Fairy reads this, I want her to know that I say, "HUZZAH! IT'S STORYTIME! WEEEEEEEE!" But she should be saying that, not me. . . Don't ask: inside joke. Oh yes. .. And this also has a _tiny _bit of a crossover to Lord of the Rings (which I also don't own). That has to do with the "Alqua" in Phoenix's name. . . Now on to the story!

_

* * *

_

_A wedding! I love weddings! Drinks all around! . . . . and yet, something so normal after something so horrible just doesn't seem right. . ._

* * *

Phoenix Riddalia stood in the Weasleys' living room. All of the groomsmen and the groom were waiting for their final inspection. Fleur Delacour asked Phoenix specifically – after Phoenix gave her a very helpful fashion tip – to make sure that they all looked their best for the wedding that was to begin in a little less than an hour. Phoenix felt like a sergeant inspecting her troops. She walked past Bill: he looked good, not a wrinkle in sight. Then she straightened a seam on Bill's best man Don's dress robe. Charlie looked okay so she passed him up. Ron was next in line. "Ronald Weasley! What have you done to your hair!" Phoenix asked in mock anger. She quickly conjured a comb to fix his tangled mop of red hair. Fred and George found this greatly amusing and were laughing so hard that they were crying.

"Ow! Phoenix! Not so hard!" Ron yelped as she tried to get out an especially large knot.

"Well, _Ronald_, if you would comb your hair once in a while, you wouldn't have to worry about acromantula sized knots in your hair," Phoenix laughed. Over the last couple of days, she had become significantly closer to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and learned about their previous years at Hogwarts. During these conversations, she also came across Ron's fear of spiders.

"WHAT? THERE'RE SPIDERS IN MY HAIR!" Ron yelled and started to frantically brush the "spiders" from his hair.

At this, the twins laughed ever harder. "I wouldn't be laughing, you two. You're next," Phoenix said, pointing the comb at them. Hearing her threatening tone, they _tried_ to muffle their laughter.

Next it was Ron's turn to laugh hysterically. Bill and Charlie had to help hold down the twins so they could get their hair combed.

After a few minutes, Phoenix said, "There. Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"That was hell, Phoenix!" Fred exclaimed as Charlie released him. "You owe my big time!"

Phoenix just laughed as she double checked the boys' appearances. When she finally approved, she headed to her white folding chair that was set up in the Weasleys' backyard for the ceremony.

-

The ceremony was beautiful! But with the whole Delacour family decorating, that was an understatement. They transformed the Weasleys' backyard into something fit for royalty. Garlands of flowers were hanging from tree branches, about fifty cushioned white folding chairs were set up for the ceremony, and an extravagant tent was set up for the dining room. The dinner that was served was marvelous too. Guests were served a five course meal at circular tables covered in white table cloths and candlesticks. Everything was perfect. "But of course, our daughter deserves ze best on er wedding day, no?" Mrs. Delacour had said to answer all the gaping looks from earlier.

After the ceremony and dinner, a wizard band played their own renditions of popular songs. When the traditional first dances ended, numerous other couples entered the dance floor. Before she joined in on the dancing, Phoenix wanted to congratulate Bill and Fleur, who were now making their rounds.

When they finally reached her, Phoenix said, "Congratulations!"

"Thank you," the newlyweds replied together, apparently accustomed to the routine.

Phoenix smiled, "Fleur, you look absolutely stunning!" Fleur did look amazing. Her normal beauty was accompanied by another that one can only have on her wedding day. She seemed so happy, and her dressing gown – white with beautiful, pale golden flowers embroidered near the bottom hem – also helped with the "wedding day beauty". Her long silvery blond hair was up in an elegant bun. "I could only hope to look half as beautiful as you today on my own wedding day. . . if I ever do get married, that is," Phoenix finished.

"Phoenix, you weel be just as beautiful as moi if not more!" Fleur said kindly. (A/N: Remember? She slightly favors Phoenix now. . . that's why she had to make the boys presentable. . .) "You almost beat me today on ze beauty scale! You really, ow do I say zis, 'pull off ze red air'."

"Well you certainly pull of the blond hair," Phoenix said, smiling at the compliment. "And, Bill, you just look so handsome! Who ever helped you look so dashing?" she joked.

Bill laughed, "A certain dictator who has a liking of combing poor people's hair."

Phoenix laughed as they moved on to the next person. _It feels good to laugh again_, Phoenix thought. Her depression period was finally over, and she had her red hair back. She remembered her little trip with Fred and George to their parents' house the day before.

_Fred and George led Phoenix into their parents' living room. Ron and Ginny sat there with Hermione and Harry. The twins wanted to make this visit short and sweet: grab the box full of extra Skiving Snackboxes and then skedaddle. But that plan was interrupted when Ron asked, "Hey, Fred, George! Who's that with you?"_

_Fred, George, and Phoenix stopped at the stairs and gave Ron confused looks. "What do you mean?" George asked._

_Ron replied, "Well, you're kind of dragging a red haired stranger up to possibly your old bedroom. . ."_

"_You mean you don't recognize her?" Fred asked, slightly shocked._

"_Recognize her?" Ron, Harry, and Hermione said together._

"_Oh!" the 'mystery girl' said in her odd accent. It sounded like a mix between a British and an American accent. "They have never seen me with my red hair!"_

"I've _seen you with it! That's how I met you!" Ginny said indignantly._

"_Well, I'm talking about Harry, Ron, and Hermione," Phoenix said back. She paused to give the three some time to think, then asked, "You still don't recognize me?" _

_The three looked her over. She had fiery red hair, a very unfamiliar trait, but her face and eyes – amazingly blue eyes – looked like someone's they had met before. . ._

"_Phoenix?" Harry and Hermione said together._

_The twins rolled their eyes. "About time. . ."_

"_Then what happened to your black hair? You had black hair yesterday," Ron said confused._

_Phoenix knew that this could take a while to answer so she sat down while the twins ran up to their old room. She sighed before saying, "Well, you all know my full name: Phoenix Raven Alqua Riddalia. I don't know _exactly _why my body does it, but my hair changes from red to black or vice versa. Ron, stop looking so confused! It's really quite elementary. My first name is Phoenix, and phoenixes have what colored feathers?"_

"_Red," Ron answered slowly._

"_Well, actually, phoenixes' feathers are _numerous shades _of red _and _gold," Hermione stated matter-of-factly._

_Phoenix then held up a lock of her hair. It had just as Hermione described: numerous shades of red and gold. The colors could only be seen if you looked very closely for them as they all blended together to give Phoenix her distinct shade of red hair. _

"_Where does the black come in?" Harry asked curiously._

_Phoenix answered with a question, "What color are raven feathers?" _

"_Black," Hermione answered quietly like she was trying to put together a puzzle. "What about 'Alqua.' I've heard that word in History once. What does it mean?"_

_Phoenix smiled a knowing smile, "It means 'swan' in Quenya. That's the ancient language of the elves. . .but not house elves. These elves disappeared from the earth years ago. . . My mom and I figure that at some point or another, my hair with have white in it and not the kind from old age either."_

"_Well your mum named you; shouldn't she know why she named you as she did?" Hermione asked, still trying to put together the pieces._

"_My mom named me through a prophecy. When the nurse at the hospital asked what I was to be named, my mom answered in a prophecy. . . Weird huh? Luckily, the nurse was a witch. Otherwise, we could have had a problem. . ."_

"_But, Phoenix, you don't have the slighted idea as to why your hair changes color?" Hermione asked, still puzzled._

_Phoenix thought about it. "Actually, we're pretty sure but notone hundred percentsure that my hair turns black either when I'm _really _mad or in a state of depression. The state of depression one has been happening a lot lately. . ." she trailed. Her thoughts were on the deaths of Will, Sirius, and Dumbledore. . . _

_Phoenix sighed and looked up. Fred and George stood at the bottom of the staircase holding numerous boxes. "Only one box, eh?" Phoenix teased._

"_Let's just say we got a little. . ." George began._

"_Carried away," Fred finished. "Now are you done telling your life story to the children?"_

"_Hey! She's our age you know!" Ron exclaimed._

"_Always seem to forget that. . ." Fred said in mock shame. "_Anyway, _are you coming?"_

_Fred and George walked out the door. Phoenix was about to follow but stopped in the doorway. "Harry, where are you staying for the summer?" she asked abruptly. _

_Harry was caught off guard but quickly answered, "At my aunt and uncle's. I'm only here for the weekend while the Dursleys are on vacation in France. They left me at the house and forbade me to leave. . ."_

"_But you needed to come here for the wedding and so you wouldn't be so bored. And you also figured what they don't know won't hurt them," Phoenix finished like she already knew the answer._

"_Yeah. . . that's exactly. . . how did you. . ." Harry stammered; the others looked amazed._

_A mischievous smile played across Phoenix's face before she walked out the door and Disapparated after the twins._

"Daydreaming _again_?" a voice said from behind her.

Phoenix turned around to see Fred smirking behind. "So what if I am? What are you going to do?" Phoenix said back.

"Well, I guess I could ask Fleur's cousin Faye to dance if you were so busy. She looks _so _alone, and she is quite pretty," Fred smiled.

"In that case, I am _not _daydreaming," Phoenix replied.

"Good. . . May I have this dance?" he asked in mock formality.

Phoenix laughed as they walked to the dance floor.

-

Meanwhile, Harry Potter sat alone on one of the white folding chairs from the ceremony. Ron had asked Hermione to dance, and Ginny was chatting with one of her cousins. _I couldn't dance with her anyway. . ._ Harry thought. So he just sat in the chair watching the couples dance. He noticed that Fred and Phoenix had just begun to dance. Harry watched them for a while; soon he began to imagine what Ginny would look like is she was dressed like Phoenix: her hair tied half up with a white ribbon, the rest flowing about her; the light blue dress twirling about her at each spin. . .

"Why aren't you dancing?" a woman's voice asked. Her accent was British, but she had a hint of American in it. Harry recognized the dark red haired woman with piercing blue eyes from Dumbledore's funeral.

She smiled at his confused face. "No answer, I see," she chuckled. "I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Elizabeth Dalia, but just call me Elly," she said as she held out her hand.

He took her hand and said, "I am Harry Potter." Elly smiled; her eyes said that she knew a secret. "You're Phoenix's mum, right?" Harry inquired.

Elly's eyes glittered more. "Why, yes, I am. I presume that she told you about how I knew your parents.

"Yes," Harry said eager to ask her questions.

Elly laughed, "What do you want to know first?"

Harry thought about it for a while. Then he decided to ask about something Phoenix mentioned at Dumbledore's funeral. "Were you engaged to Sirius?"

Elly at first seemed surprised by Sirius's name, but then she laughed. "Yes, I was engaged," she answered. When she saw Harry's questioning look, she began, "I started going out with Sirius in our seventh year, the same year as your parents, but Sirius and I fancied each other for much longer than that. . ."

"Why didn't you go out before then?"

"Well Lily _despised _James. . . Actually, she didn't, but she didn't want him to know that. He thought he was very conceited, yet she had a _total _crush on him. It's kinda confusing. . . She didn't want it to seem like she liked him at all so she cut all ties with the Marauders. . . You know who the Marauders are, right?" Harry nodded so Elly continued, "So your mum wasn't too happy when I joined the Quidditch team. . . Anyway, I didn't want to lose my friendship with Lily so I tried not to talk to them – I mean the Marauders – too much. Unfortunately, that didn't work to well. . . accidentally came across the Map one day. . . funniest day ever. . . but that's another story. . . Moving on, Sirius – being a Chaser and all – and James – being the Seeker – were at all the practices as was I. . ."

"What position did you play?" Harry asked, intrigued by how she acted so "teenager-ish".

"I was a Chaser. SO Lily would come to a practice here or there, and whenever that happened, James would show off. That didn't help improve Lily's opinion on him so Sirius and I were unofficially forbidden to go out. . ." Then Elly chuckled, "Finally, events caused the two to really _see _each other. After that, James, Lily, Sirius, and I were pretty much inseparable. That was pretty much the end of the "Mischievous Marauder Days". But now as I look back, I feel really bad for Remus; he didn't really have a girlfriend. . . I'm so glad that he has Tonks now," Elly concluded as she looked at Lupin and the pink haired Tonks talking happily to some other guests.

It was quiet while Harry soaked up this information. Then he asked, "What were my parents like?"

Elly smiled reminiscently, "Well, your mum was the nicest witch I have _ever _known. She was a prefect in our time – probably one of the reasons she didn't get along with James and Sirius too well. She was great at almost every subject. . . It's actually really hard to describe her. . . she was just. . . Lily. . . and your father. . . he was hilarious! He and Sirius were always getting in trouble, but they were better. . . behaved once they got older. He was a brilliant Seeker, your father was. I don't think he ever missed catching the Snitch. . . cept that one time. . . ANYWAY great people. . . they understood me in a way that no one really could." She sighed and looked as if she was remembering something.

Harry thought about what she just relayed to him. Then another question popped into his mind: "Why were you and Sirius never married?"

Phoenix's mother looked at him sadly. "He proposed to me on October 30, 1981. I'm sure you know what happened on Halloween that year. . ."

In Harry's mind, he heard a woman screaming. _The night my parents died. . ._ Then it occurred to him: _Sirius was arrested that night too! _Harry met Elly's eyes;her eyeslooked as if she felt guilty. "It's not your fault though. . . that any of that happen. . ." he told her.

"I'm afraid it is," she sighed; Harry was shocked. _How could it be her fault. . . it's because of the prophecy that Voldemort came after my family. . ._ he thought. Elly continued, "Well, Harry, Sirius was over at my house; Phoenix was taking a nap. In about an hour, we – as in your parents, Sirius, and I – were going to your mum's Muggle friend's Halloween party. Phoenix was going to your house so Remus could watch the two of you. . . he didn't want to come. The full moon was two days prior, and he wasn't up for a party.

"Anyway, Phoenix began to cry so I held her. As I did so, she passed a premonition to me."

Harry interrupted, "I thought my parents were in hiding, and you can pass on a premonition?"

Elly answered, "They were in hiding, but as long as they're _secret keeper _didn't say _where they were_, no one would be able to find them, even at the Muggle party. And about the premonition, I think Phoenix is a special case; she's really gifted in Divination – better than I am and even her teacher at school. . . any more questions before I continue?"

"Wait, you said that Lupin was going to baby sit Phoenix and me while you, Sirius, and my parents were gone. If Voldemort waited another hour or so before coming, the three of us would probably. . ."

"Be dead," Elly finished. "But Voldemorthas no patience. . . . . he _always _gets what he wants _when _he wants it. . ." she said darkly. Harry didn't think that the last part pertained to his parents, but he didn't dare question something that apparently made Elly so angry.

"Back to the story then?" Elly asked. Harry nodded so Elly continued, "This. . . premonition. . .was. . . not good. . . at all. I don't know how she had it, but Phoenix saw. . . your parents. . . dying. Imagine my reaction when I saw two of my _best friends' deaths_. I panicked! Finally, Sirius understood what I was saying and was at your house in seconds. Unfortunately, the deed was already done, and Sirius was greeted by Hagrid. After Hagrid confirmed the premonition, Sirius abandoned his motorcycle to him and began to wander. Then he blamed it on Pettigrew and sought him out. I found him just in time. I stopped him from killing Pettigrew, the _filthy traitor_. . . but the Aurors wouldn't believe me when I said that Sirius didn't kill him! It was Dumbledore who pulled me away and made me go back to America. . ." Elly was on the verge of tears upon concluding the story.

After a long moment, Harry wiped away his own tears and said, "It's not your fault."

Elly looked at him for another period of time before saying, "You sound like your mother." Then she continues, "If I could have told Sirius right away, we could have gotten your family out of there. If I didn't tell Sirius, he would not have been charged with murder. If I let Sirius _kill_ Pettigrew. . . Voldemort wouldn't be back and numerous people would still be alive. . ."

Harry couldn't comfort Elly on the last two points, but he knew they weren't her fault. He also knew that there had been pretty much no hope for his parents. _"He will mark him as his equal. . ." _Without his mother dying, Harry wouldn't be alive. Harry sighed. _At least, I know what the truth about what happened on that night. . . _

Harry looked at Elly; she was now crying. He soon realized that he was too. He wasn't exactly sure why he did, but Harry hugged her. They stayed like that for a moment. Then Elly said quietly, "Harry, there's something else you should know." She paused before saying, "I'm your godmother."

Harry slowly pulled away to see if she was kidding. _Why would she joke about something like that? _he asked himself. As soon as he saw her, Harry knew that she was telling the truth. Elly Dalia was his godmother.

-

A few minutes later, Harry was alone again. This phase didn't last very long. Harry was soon tapped on the shoulder.

"Hey, Harry," Ginny smiled as she sat down.

"Hi, Ginny. Having fun?" he replied.

She smiled again, making Harry's heart skip a beat. "Not really."

"Oh," Harry replied. He really wished he could think of something to say to her, but nothing came to mind.

Ginny sighed, "Why don't we dance together?"

"Ginny, we can't! I told you!" Harry was interrupted by Ginny putting her finger in front of his lips.

"We're dancing for fun," she said as she took her finger away.

"It's a slow song," he protested verbally, but inside, he wanted to dance with her.

Ginny smirked, "Friends are allowed to slow dance, and I'm off limits anyway. I'm Ron's sister, remember? And it's a wedding: everyone dances at weddings."

"Fine. You've convinced me," Harry smiled. "Are you used that spiel on your parents?"

"On anyone who asks, really," Ginny laughed as she led him to the dance floor.

Harry and Ginny slow danced with enough room for another person to dance between them at first. As the song progressed, the pair got closer. Soon they were only a hand's length apart. Before he or Ginny realized it, Harry was kissing Ginny. It was nothing serious; it only lasted a few seconds, but it sent fear through Harry anyway. He tried to pull away from the dance, but Ginny whispered, "If you leave now, you'll just cause a scene." Harry knew she was right so he continued to dance with her. He scanned the people around them. No one had seemed to notice. Just then, Phoenix caught his eyes. She was still dancing with Fred (or at least he was pretty sure it was Fred), but she was smiling and had a knowing gleam in her eyes. Harry swore mentally; she saw! _Don't worry. No one else saw, and your secret is safe with me._ Those words floated through Harry's head, but they weren't his own thoughts. Then the sentence: _Don't worry; I'll relieve you of your 'torture.' _drifted through his mind. Just then the song ended.

Harry and Ginny left the dance floor. _Who --or what -- was telling me these things? _he asked himself. As if to answer his question, Harry remembered some of Elly's earlier words. "_She's really gifted in Divination. . ." _That could explain whyPhoenix could finish his sentence yesterday. . . _Is she a Legilimens? _He glanced at Phoenix. She was now talking to both Weasley twins. Harry had a feeling that his first impression on her was wrong, and there was a lot more to learn about the one named Phoenix Raven Alqua Riddalia.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm trying to make my contacts clear again; they got all blurry from looking at the screen for too long. . . anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. Like I said, it has a lot of story and history stuff. . . I don't know if I'll ever be able to write another one this long ever again, but chances are I will. So PLEASE PLEASE PUH-LEASE REVIEW! I love to hear from all you people out there. Otherwise, I can't change anything that's wrong or wonky or something! So please review. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I just started school today so it's harder to write. Anyhoo, thanks for reading! 


	4. The Rescue

Disclaimer: OK. . . I don't own Harry Potter or any of JKR's other characters. Blah blah blah. . . or her plot. . . yadda yadda yadda ok. .. you get the point. . .

Author's Note: OK. . . this is finally out. . .. I already have the next few chapters written but I haven't had any time to type them. . . cough cough school cough cough So puh-lease bear with me. . .

* * *

Harry went back to the Dursleys' the day after Bill and Fleur's wedding. Everything in Number 4 Privet Drive was just as he left it: practically perfect in everyway. Harry had gotten used to that; he didn't need his uncle getting anger with him. He shuddered at the thought. _I should clean everything once more. . . just to be safe, _he decided, thinking of the consequences of one little spec of dirt on the carpet. Therefore, Harry spent the rest of Monday scrubbing everything imaginable in the kitchen. .. . the Muggle way. When Harry finally finished, it was _very _late. He dragged himself upstairs to his room and fell asleep before he even put on his pajamas.

Tuesday was spent in a similar fashion. Harry cleaned every other room downstairs and even the upstairs bathroom. On Wednesday, he did all of the yard work and even some laundry. It wasn't until Thursday – the day of the Dursleys' return – that he decided he would clean his relatives' rooms. . . _just to be safe._ Harry quickly fixed up Dudley's room. While he was vacuuming his aunt and uncle's bedroom, he heard the door open and slam shut. Harry knew that the Dursleys had just returned from France so he hurriedly finished tidying up in their bedroom before heading downstairs. The Dursleys all seemed to be in a good mood, but Harry didn't want to chance changing that. He slipped into the kitchen and began to make dinner. Just as he was done, Harry heard Aunt Petunia scream upstairs.

"POTTER!" Uncle Vernon yelled as he pounded down the stairs.

_Oh, shit. What did I do now? _Harry asked himself, looking around for something to defend himself with.

"POTTER!" his uncle huffed in the kitchen doorway.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon?" the said boy replied.

"Were you the one who was in _my _room?" he asked angrily.

"Well, you asked me to keep the house clean so I thought that that meant your bedroom, too," Harry replied honestly.

"Don't talk to me like that!" Uncle Vernon slapped Harry's face.

"Vernon! He was in Dudder's room too!" Aunt Petunia's shrill voice exclaimed from upstairs.

His uncle's face turned crimson. Realizing that he was in a _lot _of trouble, Harry half pleaded, "But I was _cleaning_! I didn't do anything wrong!" Unfortunately, Uncle Vernon didn't listen to his pleas, as Harry expected. Instead, he wrapped his sausage-like fingers around Harry's neck and pushed him into his cupboard under the stairs. He heard the clicking of locks and Uncle Vernon saying, "And you will stay in there until tomorrow! You're lucky I'm in a good mood, or it would be longer, you bloody little trespasser!" With that, the vent was closed, and Harry was left in complete darkness.

* * *

Elly Dalia was sitting at work. She glanced at her watch; 12:40-something. She swore as her phone rang. She sighed as she listened to the call. "Yes, Amelia, I'll be there," she said reluctantly. _Dammit, _she thought, _now I have a meeting on Phoenix's birthday tomorrow! _She turned around on her leather swivel chair and looked out at the New York skyline. _I should probably go soon. . ._ She turned back toward her expansive office. She glanced at her watch again; it just changed to 1 o'clock p.m. Elly stood up, straightened up the papers on her desk, and packed her briefcase. She walked out of her office and said to the secretary, "I'll be off the rest of the day. Have them call me on my cell if they need anything."

"Yes, Ms. Dalia," the young secretary replied.

Elly walked out of her international real estate company, Dalia Incorporated. As she was walking, she was thinking of all the extra time she was going to have to put in on Saturday. Then, she walked down a deserted ally and Disapparated.

* * *

Harry woke up sore on Friday morning. The sorry excuse for a bed that he slept on made his back ache and was too small. As he sat there, he wondered what kind of mood his uncle was in today. Harry was sitting for a long time before it dawned on him: _He's not coming. _Harry just remembered that it was Friday, and Uncle Vernon would be back at work. He doubted Aunt Petunia or Dudley would let him out. _So what now? _He asked himself. _I guess I'll just have to wait,_ he answered himself after a while.

Harry wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he awoke to the door opening. In the blinding light, Harry could just make out Uncle Vernon's features. He grabbed Harry by his shirt collar and yanked him into the hall. Now that his eyes adjusted to the light, Harry could see that his uncle wasn't in a good mood. "Clean yourself up, and make us dinner," Harry's uncle ordered.

Harry quickly followed the said orders. After relieving himself Harry scrambled to make dinner.

While the Dursleys ate, Harry smuggled some food up to his bedroom. During this time, he heard the doorbell ring and Dudley's lumbering footsteps going to answer it.

* * *

Dudley tottered to the front door. He opened it to reveal a middle aged red haired woman standing in the doorway. She wore a business suit and held a briefcase. "Dad. . . I think it's for you!" Dudley yelled while still looking at the woman's piercing blue eyes; something about those eyes made him feel uncomfortable.

Just then Uncle Vernon lumbered to the door. _Great, a bloody peddler! _he thought. "We don't want any!" he exclaimed as he slammed the door. With lightning reflexes, the woman shoved her foot in the doorway so the door stayed partially opened.

"I'm not selling anything," she said as she pushed the door back open. "This _is_ the Dursleys' residence, correct?"

Vernon nodded confusedly. "Um. . . who exactly are you?"

"The name's Elizabeth Dalia," The woman said in a business-like manner as she offered her hand. When Vernon didn't take it, she raised her eyebrows and lowered it.

Petunia walked over from the kitchen about the same time as this happened saying, "Vernon, is there a problem?"

"Well. . . Petunia. . ." Vernon stammered as Elizabeth Dalia let herself in and said, "I would feel _much _more comfortable if we spoke in the living room." With that, she walked into the living room and sat down cross legged on a chair. She smirked as Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley sat awestruck on a couch.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Petunia asked, "Who are you?"

"As I already explained, I am Elizabeth Dalia," she smirked.

Petunia's expression turned from confused to dark at the sound of that name. "You're one of _them_," she spat.

"One of whom?" Elizabeth asked innocently.

"One of _her _friends, one of those _freaks_!" Petunia said angrily. The atmosphere changed suddenly. The air was full of tension.

"What do you mean by 'freaks'? Oooooh! You mean that I'm a 'freak' because I am a witch. . ." Elly said casually.

"Why are you here?" Vernon asked viciously.

"Oh yes!" Elly acted as if the light bulb just went on. "I'm here about your nephew!"

"Figures," Petunia huffed. "Everything is about _him_."

Elly nodded in agreement. "It is. You see, he needs to be protected with Dumbledore dead and all. . ."

"Wait!" Vernon exclaimed somewhat excitedly. "That old crackpot is dead! Petunia! That means we don't need that freak of a nephew living with us anymore!"

Elly said, "First off, Albus Dumbledore was _not _a crackpot. And secondly, that is why I am here. I figured that you would not want him in your house once you heard the news and would kick him out. So here I am, here to take him off your sausage like hands."

"You can have the. . . Did you just insult me?" Vernon exclaimed.

"Oh, I am so terribly sorry. I didn't mean that your _hands _were like sausages; I meant your _fingers _are like them. . . I had no intention on insulting you. It's just that sometimes the truth hurts," Elly said matter-of-factly.

"**_WHY YOU!_**" Vernon yelled ferociously.

"Now if you would show me to Harry's room. . ." Elly trailed as she stood up and headed toward the stairs.

* * *

Harry was amazed by the scene that he saw taking place. Not even a moment ago did he creep down the stairs to get a peek at who was causing all the ruckus. Now, Elly walked over to the stairs. She didn't even seem the least bit worried that his infuriated quarter ton uncle was stalking behind her. Upon seeing Harry, she smiled and said, "Oh hello there, Harry! Your Uncle _Vermin_ was just going to show me to your room."

Harry just gaped at her while his bellowed, "IT'S **VERNON**!"

"What's that, Vermin? You're going to speak louder and clearer next time. . . You must not be a great public speaker," Elly said happily. "And Harry, first, close up your mouth; we don't need you to be looking like—what's your cousin's name? Oh yes, _Dungley_. We don't need you gaping at people like Dungley does. Now go up to your room and pack _everything._ I doubt you'll ever be returning to this house."

It took Harry a moment to get over the shock of someone so casually and boldly insulting the Muggle he feared the most. He scrambled up the stairs into his room, being sure to leave the door open so he could hear what was going on downstairs. As Harry was packing every belonging he possibly could, he heard his aunt yell in a shrill voice, "How _dare _you insult my family, you **_FREAK_**!" Just as she screamed this, Elly exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! A button! It must have popped off your shirt, Vermin, when you were swelling three times your size!" Then Harry heard the shattering of glass as he was leaving his room for the last time. When he was coming down the stairs, Harry saw Elly hand his uncle Vernon a button. Then she turned around and exclaimed, "Oh my good golly gosh! Petunia, you vase is broken! Would you like me to fix it? No? Are you sure? You don't even want me to help clean it? Okay then. . . Oh, Harry! You're here! You've got everything? Your wand? Toothbrush? Books? Owl? Pictures? Key to your Gringott's account? Clothes? Maybe we'll just buy you new ones. . . Those are Dungley's old clothes? Figures. Anyway, say good-bye to your family, Harry!" Elly took out her wand and levitated Harry's trunk.

Harry and Elly said together, "Good-bye, Vermin, Petunia, and Dungley!" Then Harry left Number 4 Privet Drive for the last time.

* * *

Not even five minutes later, Harry was walking next to Elly up a long curving road.

"Sorry, Harry. Phoenix stole the car," Elly said while they were walking. "But a little exercise never killed anyone, right?"

"Er. . . right," Harry replied still a little shocked by finally being free of the Dursleys. "Uh. . . Elly. . . where does this road lead?"

Elly gave him a confused look before laughing, "Ooooh! This isn't a _road_, Harry. It's just a driveway that is too long for its own good!"

"A driveway?" Harry asked and Elly nodded. "And this driveway leads. . ."

"To one of our houses," Elly answered simply.

They walked on in silence for a little while. Then Harry saw the house on the horizon and froze. He could feel his eyes widening. The house was humongous! The front of the house was made up bluish-gray stones that looked like jagged bricks. There were four massive three story columns formed a wide half circle around the front door. The wide front porch was in the shape of a half circle and supported the bases of the columns. It was made of a grayish concrete and had a step leading up to it. To the right of the entrance way, a large two-story section jutted out from the rest of the house. Elly led Harry past the attached garage on the left of the house toward the front door. As Elly unlocked the double doors, Harry stared up at the expansive space above him. The four columns supported a roofed overhang at least three stories above him. Elly was then standing next to him, looking up as well.

"Erin always loved using height in her designs. She loved drawing your eyes up. Then she would reward your curiosity with another odd design," Elly said. Elly looked at the illuminated stain glass picture that was on the overhang. It showed robin and a cardinal circling in a patch of blue sky surrounded by the green leaves of trees. It made you feel as if the columns were the trees, and you were the one standing in the forest looking at the two birds flying to freedom.

At seeing Harry's questioning look, Elly said, "Once upon a time, I had a sister that was two years younger than me named Erin. She was an interior designer and artist. This house was a present for when she passed her designer finals. I treated her like she was my customer; we designed this house together. I build the house and made the layout while she did all the interior designs. Each room has a theme. You'll understand what I mean when Phoenix gives the tour later. Now if you'll follow me. . ."

Elly swung the double doors open to reveal an extravagant room. "The Colonial-Slash-Victorian Entrance-Slash-Living Room," Elly laughed.

Harry stared dumbfounded for a long moment. Upon entering the room, he felt like he just used a Time Turner to take him back to that day and age.

Elly snapped him out of his shocked stage by saying, "Like I said, she was amazing at what she did. She made soooo much money from what she liked and did best."

Harry nodded as he heard the sound of the car engine. "I bet you two had something to with this!" he heard someone yell.

"Oh, come on, Phoenix. Would we _really _do that to you?" someone asked.

"Quite frankly, yes," Phoenix said as she walked in through the door. "You are sooo lucky that I can't use magic in front of Muggles."

"Well, Phoenix," Fred said, following her in through the doors, "you can't you magic at all. . ."

Fred's twin, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny came in next.

Harry tried not to laugh at this sight. Phoenix was sopping wet: her hair was dripping, her body was streaked with water, and her clothes clung to her body. She didn't look very happy. Ginny, too, was wet, but she was no where near as wet as Phoenix.

"What happened?" Elly asked, trying to hide her amusement.

"Okay, so we were at the mall, right?" Phoenix began. "Ginny and I were wearing white shirts. As we were walking past a toy store, some two obnoxious nineteen year old worker guys had water guns and attacked us!"

"Should we be taking offense? 'Two obnoxious nineteen year old guys?' You know, we didn't have _any _water guns and no affiliation with them," George said.

"And it's your own fault. If you didn't wear a white shirt while walking past blokes with water guns. . . and the way you reacted. . ." Fred smiled.

"Well you didn't do anything to stop them!" Phoenix protested.

"Well. . . it was _quite_ entertaining until you almost killed the poor Muggles," Fred smirked.

"Jerk," Phoenix said as she threw her drenched white shirt at him, "you're lucky Ginny and I had camis on underneath."

"Well, Ginny doesn't really care. How come you're making such a big deal, Phoenix?" Ron asked.

"Sadly, Ron, Phoenix has something called hydrophobia," Fred said seriously.

"I so totally do not!" Phoenix protested.

"What's hydrophobia?" Ron asked.

"The fear of water," Hermione answered.

Phoenix continued to protest. "I just _despise _water with a passion. . . I don't fear it."

"Save this argument for another time, kids," Elly said holding her arms up between them all. "Phoenix, you need to take them on the tour of the house."

"Fine," Phoenix sighed. "Leave all of your stuff here and follow me. . ." She was about to lead them all away when Elly said, "Oh, and Fred n George, could you promise me something?"

"Yes, Elly?" "Anything, Elly."

"Don't cause and trouble. . ."

"Right-o," they answered together.

"Or else you get vetoed from the house," Elly finished her warning.

"Don't worry, Elly—" "We'll behave," the twins said innocently.

"That's what I'm afraid of. . ." Elly sighed.

"Okay. . . enough of that. . ." Phoenix said, and she began the tour.


	5. The Tour of All Tours

Disclaimer: I really don't know why I keep doing these. . . this one is more like a claimer. I _own_ this house! I made it up all by myself! I even drew the floor plans! So don't be saying that I'm a copier or anything like that. . . other than that. . . I don't own any of JKR's ppl cuz if I did, I would be pretty damn rich now wouldn't I?

Author's Note: This chapter is the tour of the house. It's fun. . . there will be a couple author's notes in the story. . . they will be marked as follows: (A/N: The note would go here.) Thanks. Please review and such.

* * *

"Okay then. . . you've already seen this room so we can move on. . ." Phoenix said as she navigated through to a pair of dark mahogany doors on the left side of the room. 

The room that they entered was a large dining room. It had a low dark mahogany table in the center of the room. Instead of chairs, beg square burgundy pillows surrounded the table. The walls and ceiling was a matching burgundy with gold decorations here and there. Two painted Oriental golden dragons circled the trayed ceiling. In fact, everything had sort of an Oriental feeling to it in this room.

"This is the Japanese Dining Room. . . okay. . . let's move on. . ." Phoenix then led them through another set of mahogany doors on the right side of the room into a long hallway. To the left at the end of the hallway was another door. Directly across the hall from the Japanese dining room was an archway leading into a kitchen.

"The Country Kitchen," Phoenix said. This kitchen had distressed white cabinets. The counters were a faux taupe and beige. Little blue specks were in it too. It had the normal Muggle kitchen appliances such as a refrigerator, a stove, a dishwasher, etc. It also had an island with stools and a table as the dining areas. There was no right wall in the kitchen.

Phoenix led them through the empty space left by the "missing wall" into another room. This room—as Phoenix called it—was the Contemporary Family Room. It had soft white wall-to-wall carpet. The furniture was all clean cut and contemporary looking. Modern art was displayed everywhere. Phoenix picked up a remote and pressed a button. Suddenly, one of the paintings changed into a moving picture. This amazed the purebloods.

"My favorite part of the room: a projector TV." Phoenix smiled as she watched the music video for Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl." The Weasleys looked confused so she elaborated, "It's a Muggle thing called a TV. . . yeah. . . on this channel, they play music videos and stuff. We heard this song on the radio in the car remember? . . . Oh never mind!" Phoenix turned off the TV, and the painting reappeared. Then she quickly left the room through a door that led into the long hallway from earlier.

"There's a bathroom right there," Phoenix said as she pointed to the door at the end of the hallway. "There's nothing special about it; I think it's the only room without a theme." She led her group to another set of double doors directly across from the bathroom door. "Now this is," she continued as she opened the doors, "the Medieval Library." Hermione let out a small gasp.

The room was two stories high, and every available space was covered in shelves and shelves of books. In the far left hand corner was a stone spiral staircase. There was a tapestry hanging on it. The part of the room that made the sidewall the far wall of the house had a large fireplace with comfortable looking leather chairs. On either side of the fireplace was a suit of armor. Other couches, chairs, and Medieval artifacts were also scattered in this room. Above the mantle, though, was an interesting artifact, a crested shield.

"Is that Hogwarts's crest?" Hermione asked, referring to the shield.

"Yeppers." Phoenix smiled. "You should hear some of the comments we've gotten on it from Muggles, especially historians. . . it's great. . . But the tapestry gets more attention," she said pointing at the tapestry hanging on the wall made by the curve of the spiral stairs.

The group walked over and looked at the tapestry. It would have been divided into four rectangles if it had not been for the circle in the middle. A large stone castle with a thick dark forest in the background was inside the circle. The top left hand corner had the picture of a man sewn into it. His mane of hair was golden with a touch of red. He wore the garbs of a knight and held a beautiful sword in his hands. Behind him was a red shield with a golden lion rampant on it. It leaned against a stone in a field somewhere. Next to his rectangle was the picture of a lady. She had fair skin and dressed like nobility. Her raven black hair cascaded down past her shoulders. A raven with a blue band around its ankle was flying toward her through an open window carrying a bronze, blue, and black scepter. She appeared to be sitting a library much like the one the tapestry was in now. Underneath the knight looking man was a more peasant-y looking woman. She had dirty blonde hair that was messily tied up on her head. She was pleasantly plump and looked quite motherly. She held a cup in her hands and looked as if she were offering it to you. She appeared to be outside in a town. A small house with a thatched roof was behind her. Just beyond that was a forest. A badger was seen escaping into its shadows. Finally, in the bottom right hand corner was a more wizened looking man. His hair and beard were silver. On his finger, he wore a ring, and a locket encircled his neck. This man looked as if he were in a dark underground lair of some sort. A snake could be seen slithering around in the background. At the very bottom of the tapestry, a familiar phrase was embroidered in gold: Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

Phoenix laughed as she dragged everyone away from the amazing piece of history and up the staircase. "Yeah, so that was a fantabulous tapestry." Phoenix smiled. "Anyhoo, we're going up to the third floor. That one just has randomly themed rooms. I like the second floor the best. Oh, and in case you're wondering why Muggles would be in my aunt's old house. . . She was an interior designer, a top-notch one too. Whenever my aunt Erin got a customer, she would take them on a tour of this house to get a better feel of their tastes. My mom would laugh at the Muggles' reactions to the house. You know, it has a feel to magic in it. . . Nothing compared to some of our other houses, but. . . yeah. . . Anyway, now that we're on the third floor. . ." Phoenix just led the way through a long corridor to two flights of stairs. They had climbed up them and stood in another hallway. "We'll start in the Egyptian Room." She strode down the hallway and entered a door on the right.

Like the Colonial/Victorian Entrance/Living Room, this room felt like someone just used a Time Turner. The room was decorated in gold and hieroglyphs. Everything was Egyptian, and many artifacts were used in the room. They didn't stay in this room for too long because Phoenix said something about "better rooms on the second floor" and walked to the room next door.

She quickly showed them that room, the Sports Room. It was a bedroom. Then she displayed the Chinese Sitting Room, which was next to that. After that, she stopped in front of two doors opposite of that door.

"What's that room?" Ron asked pointing at a peculiar door. It was almost invisible. The cracks of the doorway were perfectly blended in with the wall and only the doorknob could be seen.

"That's a special room." Phoenix smirked. "You can see it tomorrow."

"Is that the pool room?" George asked pointing at the other door.

(A/N: Oh gosh. . . some of you know what's coming. . . but I just wanted to apologize for not being very descriptive with the rooms. . . Some are better and more important than others. . . this next room isn't really important. . . it's just a fun story. . . glances at Vismorgana/LSS and says warningly Don't. You. _Dare_.)

"I'm surprised you remembered that," Phoenix said.

George responded, "Why? That pool is amazing!"

Phoenix stated, "Yeah, well, that's true. But this room is really a bathroom. . ."

"WHAT!" the twins exclaimed together.

"You two have already been here?" Ginny asked.

"We were here with Will. . ." Fred was interrupted by George, "Business matters." Fred continued, "Yeah. . . so Kelly, Ali, Ami, Ashanti, and Phoenix were all swimming in here."

"I thought you have hydrophobia?" Hermione asked Phoenix.

She shrugged. "I don't swim often, but I do sometimes. And like I said before, I _don't _have hydrophobia. If I did, I wouldn't be able to take showers. . ."

"Wait. How can you go swimming in a bathroom?" Ron questioned.

Phoenix smirked as she opened the doors. "You only can in the Roman-Slash-Greek-But-Mostly-Roman Bathroom."

(A/N: Now if I did as LSS told me to, there would be trumpets playing and curtains being pulled back, but I cannot do that. . . just cuz I said so. . .)

Mouths dropped at the sight of this bathroom. There was an in-ground bathtub that was the size of an Olympic size swimming pool. The room itself had many Roman and Greek traits such as the columns and marble everywhere.

After a moment, Ron asked, "So where's the _actual_ loo?"

All but Phoenix laughed at the question. Instead she just pointed to a door at the other side of the bathroom. "Through that door. . . Now let's move on!"

She headed back down the stairs and took a left. "Now this hallway is the East Wing, but it never really called that. That name's just for directional purposes. It's much more fun title is the Emotions Wing cause each room is based off a basic emotion. There are six rooms here: two are bedrooms, two are sitting rooms, one is a suite, and the last one. . . well. . . we don't really know what that one is. . . You'll see what I mean in a moment. . . Now remember my aunt was _very talented_. She captured the emotions in these rooms. So our first room is Happiness." Phoenix walked in the first room on the left.

The Happiness Room was a bedroom filled with bright lively colors. As soon as the group walked in, smiles were on all of their faces. "This is so weird!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded, "I felt instantly happy the moment I walked in here!"

After a moment or two of Happiness, Phoenix led them to the room next door. She cleared her throat before saying, "Well. . . this is the Love Suite. . ."

This room was somewhat like a honeymoon suite except when you walked in, you felt overcome by the feeling of Love. (A/N: _Ahem._ The "feeling of Love" does _not _mean _lust!_ So nothing perverted has/will happen here. . . it's in a sense like the room in the Department of Mysteries that is mentioned in the fifth book. . . cept it doesn't kill you. . . anyhoo. . . sorry for the interruption. . . LSS needed to know) "We're not staying in this room long. . . gives some people the wrong impression," Phoenix said. Then she shot Fred a look as if he just said something extraordinarily rude before walking out the door saying, "Case and point."

She led everyone to the next room. She held her hand in front of the doorknob as if she were rethinking taking them into this room. Then she sighed and went in. The instant she did, tears streamed out of her eyes. The same happened to everyone else as they walking in. "Sadness," Ron sniffed. This room was mainly dark colors such as blue, black, and purple. It was a sitting room. After quickly scanning over the contents of the room, the group dashed back into the hallway and wiped away tears.

"This is the room you two will be staying in," Phoenix said to the twins as she pointed at the door at the end of the hallway.

"Oh goodie," Fred said sarcastically.

Phoenix rolled her eyes and led the British magic folk into the room. This room had double of everything: two dressers, two beds, etc., etc. But everything was in no order what so ever. Colors clashed, furniture crashed, one couldn't make heads or tails of the room. "Chaos," Fred nodded. "And confusion," George added. "Brilliant," they said.

"I thought you two would like it," she said as she left the room. "Now we only have two more rooms."

She led them into the room closest to the Chaos/Confusion Room and across from the other three rooms they had already visited. It had lots of strange angles and the color red. "Anger," Phoenix said, straining to keep her voice somewhat normal. "Now let's GO!"

The final room of the Emotions Wing was the oddest yet. It was almost entirely empty. There was only a cot near one wall. It was dark yet light enough to see in. It reminded Harry of a jail cell. His thoughts trailed to Azkaban, then to Sirius, and then to the night he was in the Department of Mysteries. Soon Dumbledore crossed his mind. The feeling was unbearable! Then he noticed Phoenix was looking at him. His mind was instantly cleared of all thoughts. To answer her now questioning gaze, Harry said, "This room makes me feel guilty."

Phoenix nodded. "It makes everyone feel like that—even those two twits right there. referring to the twins. . . Hence the name: the Guilt Room. I try to avoid it." She then left the room and the group followed behind her. "In case you couldn't tell, that was the one weird room I mentioned earlier."

Phoenix went into the hallway adjacent to the Emotions Wing. "This hallway _could _be called the North Corridor. . . but it's not. This is the Colors Wing. It has a room for the _basic _colors. There are nine rooms in this wing. Two offices, three bedrooms, one living room, one suite, and a meditation room find their homes here in this Wing. First off we will be going to the two offices." She strode over to the room next to the stairs they recently came down. They walked into the room and were amazed by the orange. "This is the Orange Office. Aunt Erin believed that the color orange perked you up and made you ready to work." Phoenix went into the next room. "As she believed the color yellow did," she finished. This office was very similar to the Orange Office. It had the desk, computer (the Weasleys didn't know what it was but no comment was made), filing cabinets, bookshelves, etc. except this room was yellow and not orange. "Notice how the room's only named color is used along with minimal brown, black, and white. Even thought 99 of the room is one color, it doesn't overwhelm you. This is because my aunt used a technique that I guess tricked the mind. She used every shade of the basic color imaginable to off set it somewhat. . . She did this in all of the Colors Wing. This was also a good way to find the 'perfect shade of blue to paint the walls'. Anyhoo. . . moving on. . ." Phoenix spoke professionally until the last part.

The Green Bedroom was shown after the Yellow Office. Then Phoenix showed the Black and White Suite, where EVERYTHING was either black or white. This specific room was, like the Love Suite, similar to a hotel suite. It had a mini-kitchen, a small living room, and two king-sized beds in a room separated by a door. "This is where Kelly and Ali stay when they come here," Phoenix said more to Fred and George than to anyone else.

"This seems like a room they would both like," Fred nodded.

George elaborated, "Enough 'chic' as would be said by Ali, and just enough black for Kelly." Phoenix laughed as she showed them the next room.

"This is the Red Room," she said happily. "It's also the way most magical people come here. You see, in this room, the fire is _always _burning." The said room was an all red living room. The fireplace on the wall across from the door was lit and blazing merrily.

"This is the room Will led us from," George noticed. Fred nodded.

"That's what it's used for. The house is under all sorts of protective spells. Like, you can't Apparate here or anything, and this is the only fireplace that is connected with the Floo Network. It was a Muggle precaution. If Aunt Erin were to be showing around a Muggle couple or something, she didn't want someone—especially my mom—appearing out of no where." Then she said to the twins, "This is where you'll be leaving for the shop unless you want to walk all the way off the property and Disapparate from there. The Floo Powder is in the red jar on the mantle." She pointed to a glazed red jar with birds circling the center.

"Right-o," the twins replied.

"This is the Blue Bedroom," Phoenix said when they reached the room across the hall. "It's a blue. . . bedroom. . . nothing special really. . . just like all the other rooms except it's a different color, design, and layout. . ."

"Isn't that everything?" Ginny asked.

Phoenix thought for a moment. "Yeah. . . pretty much."

The last room on the one side of the hall was the Purple Room. Phoenix had explained how it was a room used for meditation, prayer, or 'quiet time.' "Aunt Erin thought purple to be a spiritual color, maybe even sacred."

The final room of the Color Wing was the Pink Bedroom. When she finished showing all of those rooms, she said, "Now, I forgot to mention that all the bedrooms have a bathroom that goes along with the theme; this is _any _bedroom throughout the house. Oh! And they all have a closet too. Now we have only the West Wing left. This one has my mom's and my own room in it. It's more commonly referred to as the Elements Wing. All four rooms are bedrooms. They are also, in my opinion, the best rooms in the house." Then she muttered, "At least three of them are. . ."

Phoenix led them past the Medieval Library's spiral staircase to the only door on the right side of the hallway. As the door swung open, it felt as if you were stepping outside. The left side of the room felt like a forest while the right side a rocky mountain. On the forest side, a canopy bed was made of natural wood and had green curtains that resembled leaves. Harry noticed that the same picture that was on the stain glass window on the overhang in the entranceway was painted on the ceiling in more detail. The green that he saw on the original was now distinctly treetops. The robin and cardinal looked as if they were really there. On the right side of the room, the walls were painted like jagged rocks. It was done so well that it looked like you could actually touch the stone. A dresser was cleverly camouflaged as a rock on this side. The carpet looked like dirt on the right side and like grass on the left. Various other items blended into the theme.

"This is my mom's room, my aunt's before she died," Phoenix stated. "It's known as the Earth Room; that's kind of self explanatory. Yeah, the cool thing about this room is that it changes with the seasons. During autumn, the painting on the wall and the green everywhere all turn to red, yellow, orange, and brown. It looks like it's snowing in winter, and in spring, everything is in bloom. And occasionally on the right side, a mountain goat or something will walk by. . . really fun actually. . ."

After another moment, Phoenix led them to the door at the end of the hall. "The Air Room," she said as she opened the door.

Being inside this room made you feel like you were not inside at all. All but the wall with the doors on it, the furniture, and the floor was made of glass. If you didn't know the glass was there, you would have thought that this room was totally exposed to the elements. Upon entering, you felt as if they were floating on a cloud. Light blue and white were the primary colors of this room. The shade of light blue perfectly matched that of the sky outside, the blue of a clear sunny day. The bed too was a sight. It was attached to one of the glass walls by the headboard. It appeared to be floating in the air. Nothing but where it was attached to the glass supported it as it hovered about a foot off the ground. The bedspread was puffy and white, resembling a cloud. The other furniture in the room was blended in with blue or white.

Of course, Hermione is probably the most practical one of the group. Therefore she asked, "Phoenix, what would happen if the glass should break?"

"The glass can't break; protective spells," she replied.

Hermione nodded in apparent approval as they walked to the next room. Phoenix stopped in front of the door across from that of the Earth Room's. "You all can go ahead into this room; you don't need me. I'll be in my room next door making sure everything is presentable," she said a little bit too casually.

"I really don't think that'll be necessary," George said smirking.

"Yes, we'd _hate _to lose our tour guide. I mean you've been so _informative _and made this tour really _interesting_ so why would you leave at one of the last rooms?" Fred jested.

"Haven't you two tortured me enough?" Phoenix moaned as the two dragged her into the room.

As you have probably guessed, this room was the Water Room.

"Okay! We've seen the room so let's go!" Phoenix tried to escape again but to no avail.

"Why would we want to go? This room is _amazing_!" Hermione said, summing up everyone else's thoughts as well.

The Water Room was quite unique. Like the other element rooms, it perfectly resembles water. The floor was made up of tiles that looked like water, the curtains of the canopy bed looked like a waterfall. In fact, across from the entrance was an actual one. This waterfall began by cascading over a small ledge of the bluish-gray stone that was on the front of the house into a two-foot deep in-ground basin of water. You would have never known that the basin was not a part of the tiles if it had not been for the fact that the waterfall was causing ripples in its surface. The walls were painted a mix between light blue and white. On either side of the waterfall was a large window.

After taking in the sights, Fred and George began to drag Phoenix nearer to the waterfall. "NOOOOOO!" Phoenix struggled to get away and fell backwards away from the basin. "I _swear_! If you two _dare_ try to get me wet _again_, I will _kill_ you both," Phoenix said darkly as she sat on the ground. The tone of her voice told that she would indeed follow through with this threat.

"No worries, Phoenix," Fred said, unaffected. "We'll go to your room now." He helped Phoenix stand up; then he led her out to the hallway.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny followed shocked by the sudden change that just occurred with Phoenix's personality. "Does that happen often?" Harry asked George.

"No, not really. . .and that wasn't even bad. It was just a threat, no physical harm done." George shrugged as they followed Fred and Phoenix out to the hall.

The four exchanged worried looks. "Oh, don't worry. As long as Fred and I don't try anything else tonight, we'll all live to see tomorrow." George smiled.

This still didn't comfort them though. They stood and watched Phoenix enter her room slowly. Then she leapt onto her bed and lay there with her eyes closed. It wasn't until then that they entered her room.

It was quite apparent that they were in the Fire Room. The walls were black with realistic red flames coming up from the floor to about three-fourths of the walls. The floor was made of tiles that reflected light onto the walls and ceiling, making the painted flames look as if they were actually flickering. The bed that Phoenix was presently lying on was a four post made of black scorched wood. The covers were a dark fiery red with a black border around the edges. On the left side of the room was a desk and swivel chair made of the same black scorched wood. The chair had red padding on the seat. Also a dresser and two doors were there; they too along with all the other wood in the room was made of the black scorched wood. The right side of the room was a mirror image of itself. There were two wooden bookcases. Two red couches were in the middle of the room. They were placed diagonally. One end of each pointed to one of the corners on the said side of the room while their other ends towards the middle of the room. They were facing the most interesting thing that was drawing everyone's attention. There, in the center of the right side of the room, was a column of fire. Nothing contained it, yet the fire spiraled from the floor to the ceiling. This swirling fire was mesmerizing.

"I see you like my fire," Phoenix said happily, suddenly standing in the midst of the group.

Everyone jumped at this remark; they were surprised the rapidity of her appearance and by another change in her mood The twins weren't surprised by that. What was even more surprising was what she did next. Phoenix walked up to the column of fire and put her hand in it for a second before pulling it out again. As she continued to do this, her face changed from the happiness that they just saw to a solemnity that they saw on her once before at Dumbledore's funeral.

After a moment or two, Fred walked up next to her and said, "I think the pyro should stop playing with fire for now."

Phoenix laughed, changing back into that giddy disposition that she attained upon joining the group as they were looking at the fire, and fell backwards onto one of the red couches. It was quiet again as everyone surveyed the room some more. Harry walked over to the desk on the left side of the room. On it laid an open book. Across the top of the two pages was written "Kick Arse Christmas Party -Fifth year- New York." Pictures—Muggle pictures—were glued down to the two pages. Harry noticed that Phoenix was in almost everyone one of them. Seven other people were apparently present at this Christmas party. There were two blonde girls, a black girl, a Hispanic girl, a blonde boy, a brunette girl, and a brunette boy. Under each picture was a comment Harry assumed was written by Phoenix. There were things like "When twins have too much eggnog," "Never give Ami a camera," "Ashanti and Sam: The War of Wrapping Paper," and "What the youngest Bosworth does when he's bored." The picture though that drew Harry's attention was that of Phoenix and the brunette boy. They were standing under mistletoe and were kissing. (A/N: No. . . not _snogging_, the nice kiss on the lip. . . if they did snog. . . I'm not telling. . . and it wasn't shown in the picture either. . .) The comment said, "Damn that Prying Pandora of Ami and her demonic ways of catching people with her horrendous hidden cameras!" There was also another picture of Phoenix and the boy. In this one he was sitting on a couch. Phoenix was next to him with her arms loosely around his neck and her head resting against his. The caption of this one was "I love this kid." Harry stared confusedly at the "mystery" boy and then glanced up at everyone else. Hermione was looking at the books on the bookcase, Ron and Ginny were looking out the window at the yard, and George was doing anything really. Fred and Phoenix were both sitting on the couch and appeared to be having a mental conversation. _Who is this guy? _Harry thought as he watched the couple. The silence was then broken by Phoenix saying, "What are you all doing? Go get your stuff and fight for your favorite room."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny made their way back to the Colonial/Victorian Entranceway/Living Room to grab their "stuff."

"What room do you want?" Ginny asked no one in particular as they were walking down the spiral staircase into the Medieval Library.

"I think I want the Water Room," Hermione stated.

"I'm thinking about the Air Room myself," Ginny said. "What about you two?"

"I guess the Green Room." Ron shrugged.

"Then I'll take the Blue Bedroom," Harry decided as he gathered his things.

George was soon downstairs with them. He started gathering both his and Fred's things.

"Shouldn't Fred get his own stuff?" Ginny asked.

"Well Fred's busy at the moment so I figured I would be a good brother and take his things up to our room along with mine." George smirked mischievously.

"Busy doing what!" Ron asked, disturbed.

"Nothing that any of you haven't experienced." George continued to smirk. "I still think Lavender was mental."

"_Was_ mental? She still _is _mental!" Ron exclaimed as they all headed to their newly chosen rooms.

Right before everyone departed down their appropriate wings, George remembered, "Oh yeah. We're all supposed to meet in the Contemporary Family Room after we're done unpacking. Phoenix said something about a movie . . ."

* * *

A/N: So there you have it. . . Chapter 5. . . the next chapters are funn. . . if you haven't already seen the Spider-Man movies, I'd recommend you do. . . I'm sure you'll have plenty of time with the rate I'm going >> kk well hope y'all enjoyed 


	6. And the Trip Begins

Disclaimer: Ok. . . so I don't own quite a few things in this one. . . I don't own Spider-Man, the movie, characters, or comics. I don't own Peter Pan. And I don't own Harry Potter. Now if you take the gross sum of all those things, I would be so damn rich. . . Anyhoo. . . I _do _own Phoenix and all her friends, family, history, etc. Uh. . . I dunno if I need to say anything else. . .

Author's Note: This one's main point is for the beginning of thetrip to America. . . yeah. . . fun stuff. . . I also threw in some movies. . . I like these movies as you will be able to tell in this chapter and future ones. . . they just happen to tie into the story. . . yees. . . it gets somewhat "choppy" while their watching the movies so pleez bear with me. . . well. . . onto the story now. . .

* * *

The witches and wizards were forced to watch a "Spider-Man Movie Marathon." After watching the first Spider-Man, Ginny said out of the blue, "I like Harry; he's hot." The Weasley boys slowly turned their heads toward Harry simultaneously. Harry felt his face turn red. Then Phoenix said to Ginny, "Yeah, I know! Harry Osborne in that movie is pretty cute."

The tension in the room instantly lifted. Fred then said to Phoenix, "Oh, _he's_ cute. Then what am I? Dragon liver?"

"Sure, you can be dragon liver," Phoenix said as she popped SpiderMan2 into the DVD player.

"Well that makes _me _feel loved," Fred said sarcastically.

"You should," Phoenix said as she sat down next to him on the couch, "cause you are."

"Awwwwwww, isn't that cute?" George said mockingly. Concurrently, two pillows hit him.

"Damn previews," Phoenix muttered as she skipped through them.

As they were watching the movie, Phoenix laughed, "Awwww look at Harry! He's in a suit!" Fred rolled his eyes.

Later during the scene where Peter is on the payphone with Mary Jane's answering machine, his money runs out, and he gives the monologue, Fred laughed, "How many times did you watch this scene before you gave this bloody monologue to me? 'If my _enemies_ found out about you. . . if you got hurt, I could never forgive myself.' HA!"

"Harry, have you ever seen this movie?" Ginny asked, obviously hinting at something.

"_No, Ginny, I haven't,_" Harry said through his teeth.

Ginny smirked in reply, apparently liking Harry's reaction.

Later when Peter is pleading with Mary Jane to take him back. . . .

"I'm different!" Phoenix quoted. "Punch me, I bleed!" Fred raised his eyebrows at her, giving a look that was questioning the factuality of that quote coming from her. "Oh, shut up, Fred!" Phoenix retorted.

"Oh my God! Look at his face!" Ginny exclaimed when Peter was trying to regain his powers so he was taking a running start. (OOC: Then he sort of fell of the building and complained about his back. . . )

In that ending scene where Doc Ock left Peter to Harry's mercy, Hermione asked, "What's up with Harry and drinking?"

"Oh! That's the same place where Spiderman left his dad in the last movie!" Ginny realized.

"Holy! He was going to stab Spiderman!"

"No shit, Sherlock!" Phoenix exclaimed laughing.

In the ending scene where Mary Jane is tied to a pole and Doc Ock is making his experiment over again in the abandoned warehouse, Fred laughed.

"Oh God, what now?" Phoenix asked.

"Mary Jane reminded me of you. . ."

"Oh, well, my hair's better than hers," she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

Fred laughed, "I was thinking that she looked like you earlier today. . . the whole wet factor."

"W-T-F, Fred! You're such a pervert today!" Phoenix yelled.

"Oh no! They're going to drown it!" Fred exclaimed a moment later.

In the whole scene where Peter is saving Mary Jane from the rolling metal ball of doom and then from the falling wall of terror, Phoenix held a pillow above her head and said, "Hi, Fred. This is really heavy."

"A pillow isn't heavy. . . and he didn't drop it in the movie," Fred said.

"Well this ain't the movie." Phoenix hit him with the pillow.

During the 'spider web scene,' Fred said, "Blimey! There's that bloody monologue again!"

Harry tried to ignore Ginny's stare. "Blimey, Ginny, stop it!"

By the time everything was over and done with, it was about eleven o'clock. The group all dispersed and went to bed.

* * *

The next day, the guests of the house twaddled downstairs to see Phoenix making a huge breakfast. "Bloody hell, Phoenix!" Ron exclaimed upon seeing all the food on the island's countertop. "It's like the Hogwarts's banquet; only it's breakfast!"

Phoenix laughed as she put a plate piled with fresh steaming pancakes on the island. As she turned around, she was face-to-face with Fred. He tilted her chin up and kissed her. After a moment, he pulled away. George slapped the back of his twin's head. "Have you no shame, brother? There are children present!" he said.

"Like you're going to be any better when we see Kelly," Fred retorted. "And, I have every right to today: it's Phoenix's birthday _and _our one year anniversary."

"Am I the only one who remembers that Phoenix is our age?" Ron asked while everyone else wished her a happy birthday.

As everyone was eating, Elly came downstairs and piled her plate with food. "Happy birthday, Phoe," she said.

"Thanks, Mom," Phoenix said. "How long'll you be gone?"

"Uh… sometime around 5 or 6 Eastern Standard Time," she replied. "Which house are we meeting at?"

"The Ohio House," Phoenix answered.

Elly finished chewing and raised her eyebrows.

"Aw, Mom, the actual party is going to be indoors for the most part… The Brits and the senoritas would be the only ones that would go in the forest. I mean seriously, they got rid of those rancid spiders so we have really nothing to fear except fear itself."

Elly's eyebrows remained raised. "Do you really think that wise, Phoenix?"

"And why wouldn't it be?" Phoenix tested her mother.

"If you'll excuse us for a moment…" Elly practically dragged Phoenix out of the room. As she was closing the door to the Medieval Library, she said sternly, "Phoenix Raven Alqua Riddalia, I don't know if I want your friends to meet them."

"Oh, Mom! Cardi loves mortals! And Will's met them!" Phoenix argued.

"Yes, but Will and you are _like_ them!" Elly said back.

"Aww, Mom! It's not like they're gonna tell anyone!"

"Phoenix, we don't need people to know about you!"

"Fred and George know! And they haven't told anyone!"

Elly sighed, rubbing her temples. "Why do you do this to me, Phoenix?"

Phoenix shrugged. "I guess it's just my form of entertainment..."

After a long quiet moment, she sighed, "If you must."

Phoenix jumped up. "YAY!" Then she dashed back into the kitchen with Elly behind her.

Elly finished her breakfast and left. When everyone else was done, Harry asked, "So now what?"

"We get to watch _Peter Pan_!" Phoenix exclaimed.

"Why don't we just go get everyone in America?" George asked.

"I know you're _so _eager to see Kelly but there's a five hour time difference. It's 6:30 in the morning where Kelly, Ali, Alex, Sam, and Ami live; it's 3:30 a.m. in LA where Ashanti lives. If we go now, all of them will be so p.o.-ed. And _trust me_, you don't want to see Kelly in a bad mood… it's definitely not a pretty sight. _Plus_… we need to learn the difference between kisses and thimbles," Phoenix said seriously. "So by the time the movie's over, it'll be 8:30 in New York. By the time we are all out of pajamas and-slash-or presentable, it'll be sometime after 9 there… Then we will not have any New Yorkers in bad moods."

No one else said anything to Phoenix's explanation. Therefore, they watched _Peter Pan_. (A/N: It's actually the first major production with a boy playing Peter. Just a bit of useless info. ) Afterwards, everyone got changed and presentable. Phoenix was right: it was after 2 p.m. (in England) when all this was done.

The group met in the Elements Wing at 2:17 p.m. Phoenix then led them to the door that Ron pointed out the day before that was next to the Roman/Greek-But-Mostly-Roman Bathroom. "This is room is going to help us get to New York," Phoenix smiled.

"How?" Ron asked doubtfully.

"Easily," Phoenix replied. "It leads to the Hallway of Doors."

She opened the door and led them into a long and narrow hallway. Going inside this hallway was quite strange: it felt as if there were no walls, ceilings, or even a floor. Doors—seeming coming from no where—lined the hallway, each having a small golden plaque with a name engraved into it. They walked—though it felt like they were floating—down the hall until Phoenix came to a stop in front of two doors. One read: New York House; the other: New York Apartment. Phoenix opened the first of the doors. The whiteness of the Hallway of Doors was contrasted by the hallway that the door led out to.

"This is our New York house. It's in the same development as the Turners' and Bosworths' houses. I do believe that a tour of this house would be quite boring so we'll be off," Phoenix said as she closed the door to the Hallway of Doors. Then she took everyone across the catwalk that overlooked the foyer and family room, down some stairs, and out the front door.

As they walked down the street, Hermione observed the house. It looked normal enough, about the same size as her own house if not a little bigger. It was a two story beige brick house. Yet, compared to the house they just came from, this house looked almost small.

"We bought the last lot available for this house. There are only ten lots in this development, but they all have a least an acre of land," Phoenix explained.

They continued to walk down the street and then turned right onto a cul-de-sac. "I know where we are now," George realized, "but I never knew you had a house so close by."

Phoenix smiled. "Yes, my house is close by almost everyone's." Then she said to everyone, "There are only two houses on this cul-de-sac. The house on the left side of this dead end street is where the Bosworths live. The Turners live in the house on the right."

"Phoenix, who are these people?" Hermione asked.

Phoenix laughed. "How stupid of me! You don't even know these people! Kelly, Ali, and Alex are members of the Bosworth family. Sam is a Turner… as was Will… but you'll know who they are soon enough."

They proceeded up the driveway of the Bosworths' house and were about to ring the doorbell when the door swung open. Two blonde haired girls came out and hugged Phoenix. "Hey, Phoenix!" they exclaimed. It took Hermione a second to notice that the two girls were identical twins.

One of them was wearing a pink tank top and white shorts. The top half of her curly blonde hair was pulled back with a perfectly coordinated pink clip. She had matching pink-glitter eye shadow on and clear lip gloss. Overall, she was very pretty.

Her twin was pretty but in a completely different way. She seemed to have a "punk" style. Her shirt was black. On it in bold white letters was the phrase: "TROUBLEMAKER." She wore dark jean shorts and a black belt. Her hair was straight. She had dark blue eye shadow on that made her dark blue eyes really noticeable. Black eyeliner lined her eyes. Even though the girls were completely different style-wise, they had the same face and slender bodies. Obviously, they were both friends with Phoenix.

Two other people were standing in the doorway; both had an eyebrow raised at the twins. The first was a boy with somewhat long blonde hair. He wore a green and white striped polo shirt and khaki cargo shorts. The other person was a girl with short brown hair. She wore a dark purple shirt that read: And your point is? She also had on jean shorts.

"Okay, intros… Brits, Ali is in the pink, Kelly is in the black, Sam is the brunette, and Alex is the boy," Phoenix said, pointing to the appropriate person. "New Yorkers, this is Harry with the glasses, Ron is the red head, and Hermione is the brunette. You should already know Fred, George, and Ginny."

"Kelly better know me," George joked.

Kelly smirked as she walked up to George. "I don't think I do…"

"This should refresh your memory." George returned the smirk and kissed Kelly.

After they pulled away, Kelly jested, "I have a _vague _memory of who are…"

George was going to kiss her again, but Fred slapped the back of his twin's head and said, "Have you no shame, brother? There are children present!"

The Weasley twins laughed as Phoenix and Kelly rolled their eyes.

"So what house are we at for the par-tay?" Sam asked Phoenix.

"The Ohio house," she answered.

"Isn't that where you had it last year?" Alex questioned. Phoenix nodded.

"So that means that _we_ were there?" George half-questioned. Phoenix nodded again.

"Oh, yeah… how long are all of you staying?" Phoenix asked the four New Yorkers.

Ali answered, "Well Kelly and I are allowed to stay until, like, August first, but we have to come home once a week to 'check in.' The littlins are going home after the party."

(A/N: Haha, I love the word "littlins." It's pronounced little-ins… I may also use youngins… pronounced young-ins… yees, that is all.)

"Okay, that's when all the Brits are leaving too," Phoenix said.

"We're leaving on the first?" Harry asked.

Phoenix nodded. "Yeah, you're kinda out of the loop cause you just got here. My mom arranged this with Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Granger. You're all going to the Burrow on the first while my mom and I go on vacation somewhere…"

Harry smiled. "Brilliant."

Phoenix looked up at the sky. "You know what… I think that I'm going to run an errand," she said still looking up. Then she redirected her gaze to the Bosworth twins. "You guys do mind, do you?"

Kelly nodded her head slightly understanding the request. "No, we don't mind. Go right ahead."

After getting Kelly's permission, Phoenix Disapparated.

"Uh… where'd she go?" Ron asked.

"To run an errand. Duh," Kelly said. Ali sighed, "We'll tell you when we get inside."

"Oh, so the accursed Weasley twins are allowed inside the posh Bosworth household?" Fred said smiling.

"Well, Mom doesn't really care if you come in…" Kelly said.

"Unless you try to destroy the house again…" Ali added.

Kelly nodded. "Or give us something to wreck havoc… and Dad just… just…"

"Hates them with a passion," Alex finished.

"Well, Dad isn't home right now," Kelly retorted as she led them into the family room. They all sat down on the couches around the fireplace.

"Okay, so now we can tell you… You all know about Will, right?" Ali asked.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shook their heads. At the Americans' shocked expressions, Hermione said, "Well… we've heard his name before…"

"Wow… it seems impossible that people don't know who Will is – was…" Kelly trailed sadly.

"Well, Will is… was my older brother," Sam said.

"He was _like_ our brother," Kelly said.

"Yeah, we knew him since, like, we were born," Ali added.

Sam continued, "So Will was a year older than me… would be a seventh year this year…"

"He was Phoe's boyfriend. They were very close. The two met through us," Kelly continued.

"He was a nice guy," Fred admitted when Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at him.

"So what happened to him?" Hermione asked.

"He died," Alex said after a quiet moment.

"More like he was killed," Kelly hissed.

"I knew that he was killed," Ginny said, "but how did it happen?"

"Well, it was the End of the Quidditch Season dance…" Kelly began.

"The Phoenicians _clobbered_ the Dragonics!" Ali said mockingly to Kelly and Sam.

"That's no fair! I bet Will _let _Phoenix win!" Kelly argued.

"Phoenix, Ali, and I are all Phoenicians. Will, Kelly, and Sam's house was the Dragonics," Alex explained. "Phoenix and Will were the Seekers, and it was _such_ a close match. Luckily for us, Phoenix caught the Snitch."

Kelly continued her story, "Will and Phoenix both have some crazy ass Divination skills. They believed that Will was going to die soon so they left the party."

"A few minutes after they left, we heard a scream so Ami, Ashanti, Kelly, and I ran to the room where it came from." Ali sighed. "Will was dead… and we don't exactly know how, but Phoenix said You-Know-Who killed him because Will wouldn't let him kill Phoenix… or something like that…"

"We don't think that Phoe was telling us everything either…" Kelly trailed with a slightly sour note.

"So the point to this whole long story is that Phoenix is visiting Will's grave," Sam finished.

"Wait, what isn't Phoenix telling you?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well, we don't know what she isn't telling us because she isn't telling us," Sam said.

"We do have general blank areas though. For example, we don't know, like, _anything_ about her family except that Elly's her mom," Ali said.

"Or why the hell You-Know-Who is intent to kill her," Kelly added.

"And there's probably a _ton _more, but like Sam said, we don't know about them," the Bosworth twins said together.

"Ewwies!" Kelly exclaimed. "I hate when we talk together like that!"

Then the group started to talk about other things, like life in general. They compared schools and schedules. But then Fred stood up. "I'll be back in a little bit," he said as he walked towards the front door.

"You know, Fred, she gets all moody," Kelly warned.

"I know," He said as he left.

Kelly looked at Ali and said, "Bet you five bucks that he ain't gonna live to tell the tale."

The two twins shook on it. "So anyway, Ron, you asked about Quadpot?"

* * *

A/N: Well wasn't that funn? Haha, no. Or maybe yes... Well the point is that it'll get better towards Harry's birthday... Yes, I've already written that much... just not typed it... ducks and covers DON'T HIT ME! Ok, so I hope y'all enjoyed. Pleez review. Thanx


	7. Stories of Will and Guilt

Disclaimer: So… the same old ones… I don't own Harry Potter or any of JKR's characters and stuff… I also don't own _Pirates of the Caribbean_, _The Phantom of the Opera_, or _The Notebook_. Now if I did… and you included everything else I don't own… I'd be even richer than last chapter… sigh Too bad… anyhoo, I do own all of the Americans if you know what I mean…

Author's Note: Wow… chapter 7. That makes me feel special… I hope you all are liking the series… Life gets pretty bad for Phoenix soon… yees, this is a _really _long chapter, at least in my notebook it is… I don't think I'm going to split it up… or maybe I will… Right now I'm writing chapter 10 in the red and into the black notebook… It went from a purple notebook to red. And now it's in black! …aren't I a slow typer? Anyhoo… here's the story… sniffle It's a sad one filled with many heart filled memories.

* * *

Phoenix Apparated in front of a cemetery. Even though it was June sixteenth, the graveyard seemed dark and cold. The sight sent chills up her spine. Everything was perfectly still. The lone tree was dead with no leaves on it. A slight breeze blew her hair. She sighed and walked far into the cemetery. Phoenix froze when she saw the large block of granite that marked the grave of William Michael Turner. 

_I still can't believe he's dead,_ Phoenix thought sadly. She overcame her paralysis and conjured a bouquet of roses. The roses weren't ordinary either. Half of them were red; the other half was made up of black roses and was mixed in with the red. A black ribbon was tied around the stems of the flowers. This was joke between Will and Phoenix from what felt like so long ago. The memory flashed before her eyes.

_

* * *

As soon as she saw The Phantom of the Opera__, Phoenix became obsessed with it. The songs she sang, the things she thought, and the ideas she vocalized were all involved with the _Phantom. _She taught herself French, she learned everything she could about Paris, and she read all books that had the slightest thing to do with the _Phantom_. Of course the entire school knew of Phoenix's obsession within a couple days. So when her group of friends also became obsessed, no one was really surprised. Songs such as "The Phantom of the Opera," "The Point of No Return," and "Music of the Night" could be heard in the hallways on a regular basis. _ The Phantom of the OperaPhantom. Phantom 

_On Valentine's Day, the "Phantom" visited the school and left Phoenix and her friends little presents. Phoenix woke up on that day to find a single red rose with a black ribbon and note tied to the thorny stem._

Meet me in Room 213, _the note read. Phoenix smiled; she had a notion of who sent it to her._

_Quickly, Phoenix got dressed. She looked in the long mirror as she brushed her fiery red hair. The reflection showed her in her red and green plaid skirt and a white polo shirt with Cateye's emblem on it. She put on a red and green tie and left it somewhat loose. _

_Phoenix walked quickly out of the tower where the Phoenician Common Room was and up the stairs to the second floor. She went into Room 213 to see no other than Will Turner leaning against the wall across from the door. "I was tempted to put on a cape and mask, but then I thought better of it. After all, the Phantom didn't have the mask on for the last part of the show, and Christine still made out with him anyway." Will smirked while Phoenix laughed. _

"_Only you would think of that minor detail, Will," Phoenix said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck._

* * *

Tears flowed down her face in rivers. She sunk down next to the tombstone and thought, _It's all my fault…_ _

* * *

Will struggled to his feet, fighting the Cruciatus Curse. "Will!" Phoenix yelled, crying. Then she screamed at the other person present. "STOP! DON'T HURT HIM ANY MORE!" _

_Voldemort laughed and released Will from the curse. He then slowly walked up to Phoenix and tilted her chin up towards his face. "Will you not join me, daughter? We could be great together… I see it in you. You _do _have a 'dark side', Phoenix. There's no use fighting it… and if you join me now, you'll spare your little lover here the grief of seeing you die."_

_Phoenix stared defiantly into her father's eyes. "I will _never_ join you!" She fought to get away from him. She stumbled backward and leaned against the wall. _

"_Think carefully, Phoenix. This is an opportunity that some would kill for," Voldemort said, losing some of the silkiness in his voice._

"_Never," Phoenix said darkly._

"_So be it," he said as he sent the Killing Curse at her._

_The next part happened in a blur. Will stepped in front of Phoenix. As Will's lifeless body fell to the floor, Phoenix's screaming one collapsed as well. Voldemort laughed and then disappeared from the scene of the crime. Phoenix realized she was screaming after he was gone and tried to stop._

_Phoenix cried over Will's body but felt mixed emotions. One part of her wanted to tear his body apart limb for limb because he left her. Even though, she cradled him in her arms as all the love she had for him poured out in her tears. "It's all my fault… it's all my fault," she whispered as she cried._

* * *

Phoenix sat crying on the headstone as she continued to whisper, "It's all my fault…" Just as unexpectedly as when it originally happened, a memory flashed before her eyes. _

* * *

Phoenix awoke in the library. Dammit! Why do I always fall asleep in a library? __she thought to herself. She was lying on a couch with a book resting on her stomach. As she stretched her arms and legs, she realized that she awoke because someone was in the room. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark room, but she finally could see a figure leaning against the wall the couch was against. The person was looking at Phoenix. She sat up abruptly and turned to face the intruder. "Wi… how… is this… oh my god…" she stuttered._ Dammit! Why do I always fall asleep in a library? 

_Will smirked as she tried to talk to him. The moonlight that had been blocked by a cloud passed into the room through the window. Phoenix took in every detail of him. His dark brown hair was medium length: not too long but not too short. His bangs fell into his dark midnight blue eyes. He wore his school uniform: black pants, midnight blue button down shirt, and a black and blue tie. Albeit the uniform was supposed to be formal, Will made it look casual. His sleeves were rolled up to his shoulders, the top two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, and his tie was hanging loosely around his neck._

_Phoenix sat there full of awe. After of moment, the original emotions of anger and sadness overwhelmed her. She wanted to attack, claw his face apart! Yet hot fresh tears poured down her face. She hopped over the arm of the couch to get to him. "You left me! He was going to kill me, not you! And now I can't fucking die! I've tried, Will! You left me alone! I HATE YOU!" she yelled as she hit him repeatedly. Will just stood there, looking at her sadly with his deep blue eyes._

_After a moment of this, Phoenix fell back over the arm onto the couch, buried her head in her hands, and cried. "I'm so sorry, Will. It's all my fault… it's all my fault…"_

_He let her do this for a moment. Then he went to the front of the couch, took her hands, and helped her stand up. "Don't cry," Will said, speaking for the first time. "You were right the first time: it's _my _fault."_

"_No, if I accepted him, he wouldn't have tried killing either of us!" Phoenix retorted._

"_I would NOT have you join him to save _anyone_'s life!" Will said with anger in his voice. Phoenix had tears welling up in her eyes; his expression instantly softened. "Sorry," he said gently placing his cheek against hers. Then he lightly kissed her._

_After they pulled away, Phoenix asked, "How are you here? You're dead, aren't you?"_

_Will looked thoughtful. "I'm not really sure… I guess I cannot die spiritually as you can't die physically." Then it looked as if he just had an epiphany. "Oh, it's because of our powers. You remember we can visit the Immortal Realm and only one of us can go at a time? Well, being dead counts as being in the Immortal Realm. That's why you were suddenly made physically immortal."_

"_But I don't want to _BE _immortal! Being immortal means you can go to the Immortal Realm without dying! Well now I can't go there any more! Will, I want to DIE! I –"_

_Will interrupted by placing a finger to her lips. "You know, you really live up to your name, Phoenix." He continued this strange monologue. "First off, you have a very _fiery _disposition. One second you can be blazing perfectly content; the next you're engulf whatever stands in your way. In other words, you have a temper, Phoe. You hate water and are a complete pyro… But did you know what your name could also mean? 'Phoenix' also means one of extraordinary beauty, which is definitely one of your qualities," Will said with a kiss. "But most of all, there's the saying, 'A phoenix always rises from the ashes.' If I had to choose someone who fits that description, it would be you, Phoe. For as long as I've known you, you have done just that: 'rise from the ashes.' Every year life gets harder for you, and you'll go into your 'Raven periods' from time to time… yet… you always bounce back; you rise from the ashes." Here Will was quiet for a long moment, letting the words sink into her. Then he said quietly in her ear, "I never _EVER _want you to forget that, Phoenix, ever. Therefore, I'm going to give you something. Close your eyes, Phoe." Phoenix did so. "Hold up your hair." Again she followed Will's said instruction. She felt something cold hit the skin by her neck that was exposed by her slightly unbuttoned polo. She felt Will tighten a rope-thing around her neck. "Okay, you can look."_

_Phoenix looked to see what was hanging around her neck. A rope-like necklace was hung around her neck. It had two knots so one could tighten or loosen the necklace. The cold metallic thing was a charm about the size of a quarter. It was made of bronze. Instead of the profile of George Washington, a phoenix was on the coin. Its wings were spread as it flew up from the flames and into the sunny sky as it was born anew. Quickly, the cold of the metal was replaced by comforting warmth. Phoenix stood there with her hand holding the charm just above her heart for a while before Will said quietly – almost sadly, "I want you to do the same with me…"_

"_What!" Phoenix asked, shocked._

"_Yes, you heard me. I want you to move on. There are more fish in the sea as some would say…"_

"_But I love you, Will!" Phoenix began to cry again. _How does he expect to move on just like that! _she thought, tucking her black hair behind her ears._

_Will held her in his arms. "I want to see you happy. You _need _someone to talk to, to be there for you, to know your secrets. You also know which person I'm referring to… I trust him, even though most people wouldn't… Phoenix, there are going to be hard times for you in the future; I don't want you to be alone…" he whispered in her ear._

"_You of all people should know that I don't want to get close to anyone! I'll just wind up getting them and myself hurt!"_

"_You've heard me out, and I guess that was the reason I came…"_

"_No! Don't leave me again so soon!" Phoenix exclaimed, crying._

"_Phoe, how many times have you heard this cheesy line: 'I'm always with you right here in your heart'?" Will asked, laying Phoenix back down on the couch. "Well guess what? It's true," he said quietly in her ear. Then he kissed her softly and gently. Phoenix drifted back to sleep to his lips on hers._

* * *

Hot fresh tears pored down her face yet again. "How could this happen to me?" she sobbed. She buried her head in her arms as she lay against the headstone.

* * *

Fred Weasley abandoned his normal laidback disposition as he saw Phoenix crying. Fred never tried to push her _too far_, even though he almost has once or twice. He stood there trying to think of a way to comfort her, but none came to mind. _Phoenix, _he thought to himself, _why do you always have to be so sad? _Just then, Phoenix noticed him. 

Phoenix looked at him with tears with her beautiful blue eyes. Tears were still streaming down her face. She was still lying on the ground but her upper body was leaning on the tombstone. Fred squatted down in front of her and wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry, Fred." Phoenix rested her head against his shoulder.

"For what?" Fred asked gently.

"I got you involved in all this… and George too."

"Don't you dare try giving me that bloody monologue again," Fred said in a joking voice, yet he could tell she knew he was serious.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Phoenix said quietly, "I just don't want anyone else to get hurt. All of my family – except my parents – and Will have died because of me."

"That's not true, Phoenix," Fred said, cupping her face in his hands.

Phoenix didn't answer. Fred knew it was because she still blamed herself. "It's not your fault," Fred said.

Phoenix began to cry again. "It is!"

"Look at me, Phoenix!" Fred tilted her face to look at his. Her blue eyes met his hazel ones. "No. It. Is. Not." Then he smiled. "C'mon, Phoe," he said more gently. The two stood up together.

"Thank you, Fred." Phoenix brushed her lips on his and let them linger. "I love you."

Fred rested his right cheek on her left. "I love you, too." He kissed her.

* * *

Author's Note: Awwww… such a cute chapter… yes, I decided to divide it… this gets its own little chapter… I hope you all now understand how much Phoenix's life is messed up already… sigh I such a romantic… or a pervert… or quixotic (haha what a funn word ) or maybe even schizophrenic… well whatever… So now technically I'm writing Chapter 11 right now… It's a good chapter if I do say so myself I made to people start screaming as they were reading it… huzzah for me. As always, review and stuff… MAN! I got this chapter posted quickly! 

I lurv you all! Byes for now!


	8. Party in Ohio

Disclaimer: Well, I don't only any actual Harry Potter characters or JKR's plot. I do own all the Americans and such and their situations. Oh yeah, and I don't own Dance Dance Revolution… you'll understand later.

Author's Note: **cries** I'm soooooo sorry that I've taken soooooo long to post again! I swear, it's not my fault! All of my teachers gave me reports! It was soooo not fun! But l'anyhoodle, this chapter is okay, but it's long. I probably missed where I ended the chapter, but when I counted, there were like 25 pages for me to type (but then again, that's with me handwriting it). Like the last chapter, I may try and divide this one up too. Sorry if some of the fonts I used don't work. Like, I tried using accent marks for Spanish, but I don't know how those worked out... So anyway, on with the story!

* * *

Phoenix and Fred Apparated back onto the Bosworths' cul-de-sac. They walked back inside. Everyone was still in the family room. They were all comparing Quidditch and Quadpot. 

"Oh my god! Fred's still alive! Dammit!" Kelly exclaimed when she saw the couple standing in the doorway. Then she passed Ali five dollars.

Phoenix laughed as she sat down between her two best friends. "You two are cah-razy," she said, smiling. "Oh! Do y'all thing think Ami's up by now? After all, it's a tad bit after ten."

"Yeah, she should be up… it's Ashanti we need to worry about," Ali replied.

"Good." Phoenix stood up and walked to the foyer. A woman with shorts and a t-shirt on was just arriving in the hall as well. Similarly to the twins, she had shoulder length blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She held a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. "MRS. BOSWORTH!" Phoenix exclaimed as she hugged the woman.

"Hello, Phoenix," she said, smiling slightly tiredly. "Hi, Sam, Fred, George… and Ginny, right? And who are these three?"

Ali introduced Harry, Ron, and Hermione to her mom. "So can we go now?" she asked somewhat impatiently.

Mrs. Bosworth nodded. "But remember: Alex, you need to come home tonight – no exceptions. Kelly, Ali, once a week I want you to come home and check in." Kelly and Ali made identical annoyed faces. "And don't give me that look, young ladies. Now you may go. Good bye."

The British and New Yorkers walked back to Phoenix's house. There they entered the Hallway of Doors. Phoenix led them through a door that read: Orlando, Florida.

In a couple of minutes, everyone stood in front of a unique home. It consisted of three buildings that were positioned in a triangle. Phoenix explained that the building at the point of the triangle, the one closest to them, was a mix between a family room, a living room, and a recreational room. The two story building in the far left corner of the lot was the kitchen and dining room. The large four story building in the back right hand corner contained seven bedrooms, one half bathroom, and four full bathrooms. In the midst of all these buildings, she had explained, was a large pool. On the right of this said pool was a fenced in garden.

Phoenix walked up to the first building and rang the doorbell. After about a minute, the door opened and a fair skinned girl stepped outside. Her hair was pale blonde – nearly pure white. The only thing that made her hair bearable was the faint red hue in it. Strangely, her eyes looked a mix between blue and lavender. Her smile was also quite white. "Hey, everybody. You here for Ami?" she greeted them.

"Hey, Shené! Yeppers, that would be why we're here," Phoenix replied to the albino girl.

" Kay, I'll go get her." Shené walked back inside.

Before the door closed, another person appeared in the doorway. He had dark skin, hair, and eyes. All together he was quite handsome. He didn't have his shirt on and wore baggy sweatpants. "Hola señors y señoritas," he winked.

"God, Michael, save it for someone who cares," Kelly said, referring to the guy's flirty tone.

Michael laughed. "Sí, well, you all should come inside; Ami just finished eating breakfast."

"So, Michael," Ali asked when they all went inside, "are you coming to the party tonight?"

A smile crossed his face. "Just tell me when and where."

"The Ohio house, 8 o'clock; spread the word," Ali said.

The building they had just entered was one big room. The left side appeared to be 'nicer.' It had a fireplace, bookshelves, a mini grand piano, formal looking couches, some plants that added to the elegance, and much more. The other side of the room had a plasma TV along with some comfy looking sofas, a pool table, two pinball machines, a huge stereo, and other things of that sort. On the couch in front of the TV were a man and a woman.

"¡Juan and Janita¡Hola!" Ali greeted them happily.

"Hola," they replied. Both looked of Puerto Rican decent.

"¿Juan, como estás?" Kelly asked.

"Así-así," the man replied.

"Felices cumpleaños, Phoenix," the woman said.

"Gracias." Phoenix smiled.

Another woman walked in. Like all the others in the room, she had the dark skin, hair, and eyes. The difference was that she seemed to command respect and walked with perfect posture.

"Hello, Señora Omigo," Phoenix greeted the newcomer. Kelly and Ali had similar responses.

"Hello, girls." She smiled sightly. "Amianda is up in her room. You might as well go up there."

As Phoenix, Kelly, and Ali led them outside, Harry asked, "Who are all these people?"

The three girls laughed. "Ami's entire paternal family lives here. That's why the place is so ginormous."

Ron was looking over at the garden surrounded by the white picket fence. "Are those graves?" he gasped.

"Yes," Phoenix answered solemnly. "Ami's grandfather, grandmother, and father are buried there. Two years ago, her grandfather drowned in that pool right there. Not even a month later, her grandmother died of while she was gardening. We don't really know how that happened; she may have overworked herself, or was in shock from her husband's death, or something. Then during Christmas last year, Ami's father died of what we think was cancer, but we're not really sure."

"That's really sad," Hermione said sympathetically as they entered the four story building.

"On a happier note, how are all those people related to Ami?" Ginny asked.

"Michael is Ami's cousin. Juan and Janita, the ones who were sitting down, are his parents or Ami's uncle and aunt. Juan and Janita adopted Shené, the albino girl. Janita also had a baby in May named Pablo, but he's probably taking a nap somewhere in here," Ali replied.

"Calita is Ami's mom. She's in the navy, hence the formalness with her. Ami also has a three year old sister named Carlotta. I guess you can probably tell, but Ami's whole family is Puerto Rican." Kelly finished as they all reached the third floor.

Ali walked up to the door on the right and knocked quickly. They could hear a frustrated moan. The door opened, and a girl's head popped out. "¿Qué?" she asked annoyed. Then she realized who was standing outside her door. "Oh! It's you!" She opened the door wider. "I thought you were Shené; she kept coming and bothering me." The girl that was standing there had wavy shoulder length hair. She had on a brown skirt and a goldenrod t-shirt. The room behind her was quite neat. Shelves filled with books covered a lot of the walls. A digital camera was hooked up to a laptop that rested on her bed.

"Hey, Amianda!" the three girls exclaimed, giving the girl a hug.

"Hi," she replied unenthusiastically.

"What's wrong?" Ali asked, somewhat concerned.

"Did my mom tell you that I only could stay for a week?"

"What?" the three cried in unison.

"Sí. She wants me home. Apparently we're going to visit her family in Puerto Rico. She doesn't want me gone for most of the summer like last year, keeps saying things like 'Los tiempos han cambiado, Amianda. The times have changed.' It's kind of unfair, but I can't really argue with her."

"Oh my god! That's so unfair!" Ali exclaimed.

"Hey, at least you can stay for a week," Phoenix shrugged.

Kelly laughed. "All hail the ever optimistic fire birdie." Ali, Ami, and Phoenix joined in laughing.

"Are you ever going to shut up so you can finish packing?" Sam asked annoyed.

"Aww, Samantha. You can't handle us Señoritas being together?" Kelly joked.

After a few more minutes, Ami was all packed and bade her family farewell.

* * *

It was turning 7 o'clock a.m. in California when they arrived. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Alex, Sam, Phoenix, Kelly, Ali, and Ami boarded a bus that would take them from Malibu to Los Angeles. By the time they reached the apartment building that the Alicias lived in, it was nearly 8 o'clock. 

They were buzzed in and went up to 3c. An attractive African American woman answered the door. "Oh, hello, everyone," she flashed a perfect smile. "Ashanti's still asleep… I'm not sure if you're going to want to wake her up."

Kelly and Phoenix exchanged mischievious smiles, ran down a hallway, and went through a door. A moment later, a voice yelled, "AHHH! YOU DAMN BITCHES!" Then there was a pause. "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY, PHOENIX! HOW DARE YOU WAKE ME UP!"

"That's not good," Ali glanced at Ami.

Ami nodded. "Let's hope Ash doesn't have any a glass of water…"

Almost immediately after that was said, one could hear Phoenix scream, "ASHANTI ALICIA HOW _DARE _YOU DUMP THAT DEMONIC WATER ON ME! YOU WILL GET OUT OF THIS DAMN BED WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

A moment later, Kelly and a damp Phoenix dragged a black girl into the living room where everyone else was. "You should know better than to get Phoenix wet, Ash," Ami smiled at the annoyed looking girl.

"Oh shut up, Amianda," she snapped. Ashanti was also pretty. Her hair was straight, black, and sleek. Her eyes were a rich dark brown. She wore a dark blue camisole with baggy sweatpants. The only thing that threw off that impression was the "back off" expression on her face and the small scar that ran along her right side jaw line. She turned to Phoenix. "So where's the party at?"

"Ohio," Phoenix replied stiffly, apparently still not too happy about the whole water incident.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, Mom says I can only stay for a week." Ashanti threw an irritated look at her mom.

"ALIYA!" Kelly yelled at the woman. "How could you deprive me of my only fellow Dragonic?"

"We're going on vacation, Kelly, and I don't want her gone all summer," she answered simply.

Then a boy about the age of seven walked out rubbing his eyes. "What's all the yelling for?"

* * *

It took what felt like forever to get back to Malibu. Finally they reached the Hallway of Doors and went through a door that read: Ohio House. It was 12:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Once in the house, Phoenix led them all downstairs to the family room. Then the Americans all looked expectantly at Phoenix while the British gave them confused looks. 

"Okay, here's the plan," Phoenix said very business-like. "Ashanti and Ali, you're doing the 'presentation' part. You know, the decorations, food, drinks, etcetera. Alex and Sam, I expect you two to spread the word. Tell everyone, anyone! Kelly, you're in charge of the entertainment; I want a _variety_ of music. Ami, you're in charge of documentation. You know, the camera crap that only you can do… Brits… well, you don't really have to do anything. You can help them if you want or explore the house."

"Okay, rules. Rule numero uno: Don't try to open any locked doors; they're locked for a reason. Number two: Don't destroy the house… that means you twins. And rule number three: Don't go _near _the forest."

"Why not?" Hermione asked curiously.

"_That _is the forest that had all the ginormous spiders in it. They said that they got rid of them all, but I wouldn't go in there right away."

Ron whimpered at the thought of the giant spiders.

"Wait, what's going on? And are you going somewhere?" Harry asked.

Phoenix smiled. "We're throwing a party, Sherlock. And me? Well, I'm finally seventeen so I need to take my Apparation Test. No, Fred 'n George, I haven't been Apparating… legally. So I need to go and take a test. You know how that goes. So I'll be back in like an hour or something."

While Phoenix was gone, the Americans were running around the house trying to get ready for the party. Ginny was helping them with various tasks, and the twins disappeared somewhere. So that left Harry, Ron, and Hermione to explore the house. A plethora of oddities greeted them. Unlike the house they were staying at in England, this house had many magical qualities to it. The three found an owlry, a room that felt like it was outside, and many other things. In general, you could feel and, in a sense, see the magic. The house seemed to never end. "How do we get back?" Ron asked after they explored for an hour or so.

Harry and Hermione exchanged perplexed looks. "We… er… we retrace our steps?" Harry somewhat questioned. Hermione shrugged. The three tried to navigate through the maze of halls. "You know what? We should just stop in a room and let them find us…" Hermione suggested. Since Harry and Ron lacked any other ideas, they just shrugged.

"Where should we stop at?" Ron asked. Hermione walked randomly up to a door and opened it. "Here." Hermione nodded her approval.

"A _library!_ Hermione! We're on summer break and we're not going back to Hogwarts!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione sighed. "Ron, the point is to wait; I _randomly _picked this room."

"Seriously, Ron. It's Hermione. Libraries _call _her. She cannot _resist _them. She's _addicted. _She – Ow, Hermione!" Harry rubbed the part of his head she had just hit. "I was just kidding…"

Back downstairs, the Americans were still trying to get ready for the party. Nearly two hours had past. Phoenix was just walking back through the door.

"Hey, everybody!" Phoenix said happily. Then she noticed that Kelly was the only person in the family room. "Uh, Kelly… where is everyone?"

Kelly looked up from the stack of CD's she was sorting through. "Uh… well… I think Fred and George went to the shop for a bit… Ali and Ashanti are shopping for food and more decorations… Sam and Alex are in some room calling, texting, IMing, and emailing every person they possibly can… Ami… she's doing whatever she does. You know, setting up hidden cameras and junk… and I dunno where all the British people are… oh wait! Ginny's with Ali and Ashanti… Harry, Ron, and Hermione… I dunno… last I saw of them, they were looking around…"

Phoenix's eyes widened. "They got lost?"

Kelly shrugged. "Probably."

"Inside or outside?" Phoenix asked worriedly.

"In the house, I think…"

Phoenix released a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. I'm going to go find them."

" Kay, you go do that," Kelly said absently, working on sorting through the CD's again.

Phoenix began to check in every single room. _I forgot how big this house is, _she thought.

It was about four o'clock. Hermione was happily reading while Harry and Ron tried to find something to do. The traditional 'Whadda you wanna do?'/ 'I dunno. Whadda you wanna do?' went on as they walked around the massive library. The two stopped before a window. "I wonder why Phoenix doesn't want us to go into the forest…" Harry thought outloud, looking at the expansive sea of green.

"Because _spiders—_probably _ACROMANTULAS!—_lived in _that _forest!" Ron said enthusiastically.

Harry shook his head. "There's got to be something _else_. You heard Phoenix; '_They _got rid of those rancid spiders.'"

"So?"

"Who're _they_? What if _they _live in the forest too? Right now?" Harry said, giving the topic some thought.

Just then the doors flew open. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked to see Phoenix standing in the doorway. "Oh praise the Lord! I found you! I thought you got lost outside! That would have been terrible!"

Harry seized his opportunity. "Why? Why would it have been terrible?" When she didn't answer, Harry asked, "Who – or what – lives in that forest? Who're _they_; the ones who killed the spiders?"

Phoenix's face was expressionless. "You'll find out… but not today… maybe tomorrow… I didn't expect you to get lost…or you might have found out today..." Then she turned to the double doors. "C'mon, you guys. I've been looking for you for two hours and now I'm hungry."

Phoenix, Ron, Hermione, and Harry went downstairs to the kitchen. The journey seemed much less maze-like when Phoenix led them. Ashanti, Ali, and Ginny were setting up plates of cookies, bowls of chips, platters of veggies, liters of pop, stacks of cups, piles of napkins, mountains of paper plates, and boxes of pizza on the counters throughout the kitchen.

"It's like the Hogwarts feast! Except with weird foods!" Ron exclaimed that for the second time that day.

Everyone except Ginny looked at him oddly. "What's weird here, Ron?" Phoenix asked slowly.

"Like that stuff in the box."

"You mean you've _never _eaten pizza?" Ali asked amazed.

"What in bloody hell is this peet-za?" Ron asked.

"Oh my god!" Ashanti exclaimed. "Ginny, does that mean that _you _don't know what pizza is either?"

"Well, I know it's the stuff in the boxes…"

Phoenix put her hand on her forehead and sank into a chair. To Harry and Hermione, she said, "You two know what pizza is, right?" Both nodded. "Good… wow… I never thought that you two wouldn't know what _pizza _was… Fred and George do…"

"Didn't you force them to eat it back when we were going into fifth year?" Kelly asked, joining the conversation as she walked in the room.

"I did, didn't I?" Phoenix said reminiscently.

"Wait… how did you know what we were talking about? You were in the other room," Ron said, now ignoring the topic of pizza.

Kelly rolled her eyes. "Twin telepathy, duh!"

The Americans looked shocked at the British's shocked and confused expressions. "You mean you don't know—" "—what twin telepathy is?" Ali finished Kelly's question. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny shook their heads. Ali continued, "You mean you live with twins—" "—in fact the twins with the strongest telepathic bond _ever_—" Kelly continued. Then they finished together, "—and you don't know what twin telepathy is?" The four now looked more confused than ever.

"You two are making it worse." Phoenix sighed. "Twin telepathy is when twins have a really strong mental bond. Ron, Ginny, you've lived with those two for your whole lives, and, Harry and Hermione, you knew them at Hogwarts… haven't you ever wondered _how_ they could finish each other's sentences? And how they know what each other are thinking without even vocalizing it? (They nodded.) Well that's through twin telepathy. And I think Fred and George have developed it to, like, the best it can be…"

"Oh, what was that about us?" Fred and George asked as they walked in.

"Twin telepathy," Kelly and Ali answered together.

"God! Stop it! That's just _creepy_," Ron said.

"Ah, but do you know what's creepier, Ron?" Fred asked. "Phoenix telepathy," the two sets of twins replied together. Phoenix rolled her eyes.

"Seriously." Kelly nodded. "She's—" "—omniscient." Ali finished, nodding too.

"Yeah, what's even scarier is—" "—she knows what you're thinking right now," Fred finished George's sentence.

"That's not possible," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Even a very skilled Legilimens needs to have eye contact and time to see one's thoughts. Mind readers are just balderdash, just like divination."

Everyone turned to see Phoenix's reaction. She appeared bored. "Seriously, we can talk about this some other time; we have a month and a half together… but I'm hungry and need food." Phoenix grabbed a cheese piece of pizza and bit it. Kelly grabbed some pizza next.

After grabbing a piece of cheese pizza, Ron eyed it warily. "Oh, Ron! You just pick it up and eat it," Hermione said.

Ron closed his eyes and bit into the pizza. "Hey! Dis is purdy good," he said with his mouth full.

"No shit, Sherlock," Kelly, Ashanti, and Phoenix said.

* * *

It was about nine o'clock and the party was in full swing. The house was full of witches and wizards from around the U.S. The music was pulsing through the air. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stuck together in the 'Mosh Pit of No Return." The crowds were so thick that the trio were almost separated a couple of times. It was almost impossible to even glimpse someone they knew. It wasn't until the music stopped, Kelly stood on a table, and she yelled, "Okay everybody! May I have your attention please! The second annual DDR contest will start at approximately 9:30! If you would like to complete, please sign-up at one of the designated tables. Notice the fire birdie, preppy twin, Hispanic, punk, gangsta, and Al sitting at tables. They, along with me, are the 'designated tables' I speak of. Now go sign up!" 

At 9:30, Phoenix led the mob upstairs into a massive room. There were thirty-two DDR machines set up. While in the room, the 'designated table' people called all the participants over by them. During this time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione found Fred, George, and Ginny. "There you are!" Ron exclaimed.

"Ah, we thought you got lost," George said upon seeing them.

"Well, we pretty much did," Hermione muttered.

"Cheer up, Hermione! The DDR tournament is going to be starting." Fred clapped her on the shoulder.

"What exactly is this 'DDR tournament'?" Harry asked.

"It's brilliant," Fred said. George nodded. "You see the machine things? Well, two people go on at a time, one on each side. Arrows appear on the screen, and you have to step on the appropriate button. This of course is all done to the beat of the music." George explained.

"DDR… does that stand for something? I think I've heard of this," Hermione asked.

"Dance Dance Revolution," the twins said together. Fred continued, "You see, they set up tournament brackets. Sixty-four people are participating this year. They all face off. Half are eliminated. And it continues until the finals where two people face off."

"Last year it was Phoenix and Kelly who faced off. Kelly won." George added.

"They're really making a big deal about it," they said together, pointing at their girlfriends. The two girls were throwing insults at one another that were layered with rude words. Everyone knew that Kelly and Phoenix were best friends, but if they hadn't, they'd have thought them worst enemies.

After a while, it came down to the 'Elite Eight.' Phoenix, a guy named Derek, a blonde boy named Pierson, a brunette guy named Sal, a girl named Judy, Kelly, Ali, and Sam were facing each other in the respective pairs. Then Phoenix and Pierson went against each other as Kelly and Ali did. Just like the year before, Phoenix and Kelly were against each other for the title. The next few minutes that passed by were intense. The two chose some of the hardest songs, yet they never got anything but perfects. The whole match just hypnotized you: their feet were beating in perfect unison and were moving so fast they were in a blur. In the last song, the fatal error was made. A single'great'was received by the defending champion.After the final scores showed that Phoenix had won, the two collapsed laughing so hard, they were crying. The poor girls were hot and exhausted. "Ali, where's my root beer!" Phoenix laughed.

Ali came over with a can of root beer and dumped it on her head. "You're sure as hell lucky that wasn't water!" Phoenix yelled as she and Kelly stood up.

The two continued over and plopped down into chairs by Ali, Ashanti, Ami, Sam, Alex, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George. Phoenix waved her wand; she and Kelly looked instantly refreshed. "That was insane," Kelly said.

"I guess all those years practicing DDR in the Room of Requirement paid off," Ali laughed.

Ashanti muttered, "Oh, don't look now, but the Bitches are heading this way."

No one listened to Ashanti. They all turned to see five girls were walking toward them. All of them were "perfect" in everyway: slender bodies, large breasts, the perfect golden tan. "How the hell did _they _get in? … nevermind, I'll deal with them," Phoenix said darkly. "Hey, slut-whore-bags! What the hell are you doing at _my_ party?" She walked over towards them.

"Oh, well, we were just bored so we figured we would stop by and liven up this party," a tall curly haired blonde said.

"Ah, Brittney, I don't think you are wanted here," Phoenix shrugged.

"Oh shut up you little bastard!" a girl with perfectly straight black hair yelled.

"Is that the best word that you could insult me with? 'Bastard?' I think you need to improve your vocabulary; it's quite pitiful," Phoenix said calmly.

"Brittney, can we pound the shit out of her yet?" a pouty blonde asked with an attitude.

A wavy haired brunette answered for Brittney, "No, Lindsey… not with her 'posse' right behind her…"

"We could take those push-overs, Stephanie!" another brunette exclaimed.

"I doubt you could, Kelsey," Phoenix said emotionlessly. "I alone could whip all of your arses."

"Oh yeah?" Brittney taunted. "I'd like to see you try!"

Phoenix shrugged as the five girls pulled out their wands. They all shot spells at her. _Protego,_ Phoenix thought, and the spells were sent back to their casters by the shielding charm. "That's all?" Phoenix asked, bored. Phoenix defended herself for a while like until one spell breeched her defenses. It knocked her off her feet and caused her to slide backwards a few feet. Phoenix stood up; she wore a _very _angry look upon her face. It was almost scary to see her this mad, and obviously the girls she was dueling with thought so too. Phoenix made a slashing motion with her wand and the five girls flew backwards against the wall. As the girls started to get to their feet, Phoenix pointed her wand at them. The five faltered.

"Just go," Phoenix said darkly. Four of them didn't need to be told twice; they started to run for the door, but not before Brittney made a very rude hand gesture at Phoenix. Everything was dead silent. Then Brittney collapsed to the floor for no apparent reason.

"Your little effing friends won't be so high and mighty when you leave them, you damn bastard!" Tiffany yelled as she helped drag Brittney away. Phoenix watched them until they left the room. Then she walked back to her friends.

"What was that all about?" Ginny asked.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Those five girls are the 'Clique' at Cateyes."

"We're their opposition," Kelly said somewhat proudly.

"Anyhoo," Phoenix continued, "just so you could get it into perspective about what kind of girls they are, you need to know their other names: the Supermodels, the Sluts, the Perfects, the Clique, and the Bitches along with many other names."

"Our little group here is called the Señoritas most of the time 'cause we're just so cool that we speak in Spanish occasionally to throw people off," Ali laughed.

Hermione looked a little confused. "Why such a big deal about that?"

"Well, we're not the 'perfect' girls. No one is _really _like that anyway. We, unlike the Clique, associate with everyone and anyone," Ami explained.

Phoenix elaborated, "It's like the Houses at Hogwarts. Slytherin won't talk to anyone outside their House – most of the time…"

Ashanti carried on the topic. "We're 'popular' for all the right reasons. We oppose discrimination by skin color, blood type, looks, ideas, what you say, and the other things like that. I mean seriously! I'm a black Muggleborn witch! Normally I wouldn't even be looked at by them." Ashanti gestured at Kelly and Ali.

Phoenix said, "Ami's family have been Squibs for the past three generations, but she's the best in our class!"

Ami smiled at Phoenix's compliment before saying, "Ali and Kelly are both Purebloods. You never would have guessed by the way they act or dress. Also, they're both different. Kelly's all punk and toy-boyish –"

"And Ali is a complete and total girlie-girl." Kelly laughed. "Actually… Ali and Phoenix could have been in the Clique!"

Ali laughed. "Yeah…Phoenix is,in fact, the Clique's mortal enemy. They _did _ask her to join, but she refused."

"Thank God!" Kelly exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

After a pause, Phoenix said somewhat slowly, "You know what's weird? You're all just talking about me… and I'm just sitting right here…"

The party continued for a long time after that. It was some time after midnight by the time everyone was gone. Sam and Alex went back to New York while Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, George, Fred, Ashanti, Ami, Kelly, Ali, and Phoenix fell asleep randomly in the Ohio house's family room.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for this crappy ending… I just had to explain about how things are at Cateyes. I didn't mean to bore you guys. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this chappie, not one of the best, but hey! They can't all be fantabulous. Yees, well, I can't seem to figure out anything else to say… yeah, so just review and that sort of normal stuff. Hopefully I'll post again soon… The next chapter's fun cuz they go into the forest. Hehe, that should be entertaining. 


	9. Into the Forest

Disclaimer: All that usual stuff: I don't own JKR's charries or anything like that…

A/N: Well, this chapter is quite like a cross over… A tad bit of LOTR, but it's not even really definitely LOTR. You'll see what I mean… For those of you who know who she is, I weaseled Cardi into this fan fiction... Erm… I guess this chapter isn't too _terribly _important… but I may find a way to make it more so as I type it… The Seven Fears of Phoenix are mentioned and that is VERY important…Okay, I'm going to stop rambling now and start typing the bloody chapter. I hope you people like it.

* * *

On July 17, Phoenix fell off the couch. She yawned and tiredly looked around her family room. Kelly and Ali fell asleep in opposite directions on a couch. Ron had fallen asleep upright in an armchair. Ashanti and Ami fell dozed off while sitting on a couch. Fred and George were randomly sleeping on the floor. Hermione and Ginny fell asleep in similar positions but on different chairs. Harry was sitting awake on the floor. He gave her a questioning look. Phoenix motioned him to follow her into the kitchen. As Harry came in, Phoenix noticed a note on the counter. 

_Phoenix, I've left for work. If you are going into the forest today, please do be careful. They won't be expecting you. I won't be home until quite late tonight. I will see you back at the other house. _

_-Mom_

_P.S. Don't do anything _stupid.

Phoenix smiled a bit at the post script. Then she felt Harry's eyes on her. "Yes, Harry?"

"Um… did you have the same… er… _dream_… as me?" Harry asked.

Phoenix blinked as her dreams flashed before her eyes. "Was yours of the murder of Chelsea Porter? She had brown hair, brown eyes, and a ton of freckles?"

Harry nodded wide eyed.

Phoenix sighed. _I'm going to have to tell Harry soon…_

"I thought that was why we woke up at the same time…" Harry muttered.

"Shouldn't you be blocking that sort of stuff _out _of your head, Harry?" Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… well… you see…" he stammered to explain.

Just then Ron walked in while yawning widely. "G'morning."

"Good morning, Ron. Is anyone else up yet?" Phoenix asked.

Ron nodded. "Hermione was stretching when I came in here, and I think some of the other girls were waking up too."

After a few minutes, everyone was awake and in the kitchen. It was about 11 o'clock. "Anyone who's hungry can eat whatever they find in here. I dunno what we have… But then you should get ready for life. At – hopefully – noon, we're going into the forest."

Ron paled. "Didn't you say that spiders live in there?"

Phoenix corrected, "_Did _live. They _should _be dead now though."

Ron was not reassured.

* * *

At noon, everyone found Phoenix sitting on a chair outside by a pool. Fred and George smirked mischievously, but Phoenix snapped, "If you two even _think _about it!" Then she said somewhat sarcastically, "Now, if you would like to venture into the unknown, please follow me." 

Phoenix led the group along the forest's edge for a while. They were all joking around and talking about last night's party. Then Phoenix began into the forest. The path that they followed was well hidden when you were looking for the outer limits of the forest. Yet when you were in the forest, it was clearly defined. It wound around through the woods and was made of tightly pact dirt. Phoenix walked confidently along it, but Harry noticed that Phoenix was holding something by her belt. Apparently Ami noticed too because she asked, "Phoenix? Is that a _sword hilt _you are handling?"

Phoenix paused and looked at them. You could see the mischievousness as well as the amusement in her blue eyes. "Quite possibly." She smirked.

"Why would you need a Muggle weapon? We _do_ have magic, you know," Hermione stated.

Their guide continued to walk forward. Even though they could not see her face, the group knew that she was smiling. "What if ordinary magic couldn't harm them because they have magic of their own? What if only the Unforgivables could touch them?" Everyone glanced nervously at each other.

"Fred, your girlfriend is loony," Ron whispered. Fred just raised his eyebrows as if to challenge that statement.

They all now fell silent out of anxiety. Phoenix—who was a few yards ahead of them—said, "Oh, they're _hiding!_" The group walked to where she was standing.

A small town lay before them. The shocking thing about it was how one with nature it was! Some of the homes were on the ground. These had many vines, trees, and other botany growing about them. Other houses were actually in the trees, tree houses! They seemed to be camouflaged by the living limbs and leaves. The trunk of the tree formed what looked like natural spiral staircases up to the house. The village itself was breath taking.

"What _is _this place?" Ginny breathed in amazement.

"It's a secret." Phoenix smiled. "Wait here."

She walked a little farther into the village. Harry thought he saw something move in one of the trees. _Probably just a squirrel_, he thought as he watched Phoenix make her way deeper into the town. Then he saw it again. The figure definitely was not a squirrel. "Phoenix, look out!" Harry yelled in warning, but he was too late. Whatever it was jumped out of the tree towards Phoenix with a gleaming silver sword raised. It appeared as if Phoenix would be sliced in half when their host drew her own sword and parried the attack. The onlookers stared dumbfounded as their friend sparred with the hooded figure. After a while, the assailant attempted to strike her vertically, but Phoenix held her blade horizontally to temporarily pause the duel and said something in a foreign language. All was quiet for what felt like forever. Then the assailant and Phoenix laughed and hugged. The cloaked figure's laugh was odd though; it sounded almost musical. When they stopped, the stranger said something loudly in that foreign language to no one in particular. Next, Phoenix led the person over to the onlookers. "Everyone," she said, "this is Cardinix."

Eyes widened as the person let her hooded cloak fall to the ground. Cardinix had an inhuman beauty. She had no flaws what-so-ever. Her figure, too, was perfect. Her complexion was fair; there was no sign of a blemish anywhere on her skin. Her hair was long and fiery red. A thin braid began over each of her ears and met on the back of her head to form one large braid. In fact, there were quite a few similarities between herself and Phoenix. The main differences were Cardinix looked a few years older, her hair just fell short of being at her waist, and she was dressed in a beautiful midnight blue medieval styled gown. Her eyes -- though they had the same almond shape -- were also a different shade of blue: a darker blue like the color of the night's sky.

"Uh… Phoenix? Is Cardinix—" "—your sister or something?" Kelly finished asking Ali's (as well as everyone else's) question.

The two girls laughed for a long moment. "No," Phoenix managed to say.

The group looked at each other, baffled. "Then who is she and why is she living in your backyard?" Ami asked.

Cardinix smiled and brushed her hair behind her ears. Mouths dropped open. This was no mortal they beheld; her ears were pointed like those of an elf.

"You're a… an elf?" Ginny questioned. Cardinix nodded.

"I thought elves were short and had big eyes… and had to serve a master and such…" Harry said.

"That's a _house _elf, Harry. She is an _elf_, anoble one… the kind that disappeared in the Dark Ages," Hermione breathed.

"So, Phoenix, you have an _elf _living in your _backyard_?" Ashanti said somewhat in disbelief.

"Not just _an _elf," Cardinix said, her voice musical, "a whole settlement of elves." She gestured to the village behind her.

Eyes widened yet again as elves began to come out onto the streets performing their everyday activities. Some were talking and laughing; others were singing. Some were even gardening. Cardinix led the humans to an elegant looking building and into a large room. It had numerous other elves chatting with one another. All of these elves seemed to be quite important, and they were dressed more elegantly than the others outside. They briefly greeted the newcomers before continuing their conversations. Cardinix gestured to some chairs and large pillows at the end of the large hall. Everyone sat down. "I am assuming you must have some questions to inquire of me?"

Kelly asked first. "You look _so _much like Phoenix. Are you two _somehow _related?"

Cardinix looked thoughtful. "I was not even born yet when this occurred, and I have seen a few centuries already. One of the ancestors of Phoenix washalf Elvish. Of the parents of this said ancestor, one was my grandfather. He had – what do you call it now? – an affair with a mortal maiden. She bore a child. Since my grandfather had magical abilities, this wizard child was still called a 'pureblood.' This wizard is the ancestor of Phoenix of whom I spoke of earlier. In a simplified version, yes, we are related."

Kelly whistled. "Wow, so you are part Elvish, Phoe."

Phoenix just rolled her eyes. "I'm not the only one. The others just don't have their Elven relatives living in their backyard."

"So there are more part-elves than just Phoenix," Ami said with a hint of a questioning tone.

"Yes. Many of the purebloods have some sort of elf blood running through their veins. When we still resided in Europe, wizards and witches were our closest kin. It was fairly common for one of nobility or of great wealth to court an elf. The Elven heritage in Phoenix is just more apparent than others, and as Phoenix said not a moment ago, she has elves in her backyard and is therefore very aware of this heritage."

"So why did you elves leave Europe?" Hermione questioned.

"The mortals were taking for granted all that we had contributed to them. In addition to all of this, it was time for us to go. You humans did not need our help any longer. We left what you presently call Europe and immigrated to this forest.

Hermione asked interested, "Why here? I'm sure there were plenty of places you could have gone."

Cardinix smiled. "You see, there is a portal in these woods, a portal to the Immortal Realm. At any point in time, we may travel into the other Realm, our original home."

"The Immortal Realm?" Ginny inquired. "What's that?"

"It is the Realm where nothing ever dies. It is where the soul of a mortal goes when their life leaves them. There are two different parts: Mar – where immortal beings come from – and Gurth – where mortal beings go when they die."

"So we're in the Mortal Realm right now?" Ginny asked. Cardinix nodded.

Harry stated. "I didn't even know that elves like you even existed."

"That is not uncommon for not many know about us. Elves are even unknown to most of the wizarding world. It is now only known by you who are present and Elizabeth that we are even still among those in the Mortal Realm. Almost all of the recordings of us were lost during the Dark Ages and soon we turned into myth. It is even a mystery to us where that history has gone."

"How do house elves fit into all of this?" Ron asked.

"A brilliant question yet such a woeful tale," Cardinix said somberly. "As one may imagine, elves were sought out for many tasks that a mere mortal could not wish to perform as well as us. Since we are immortal to all but a physical wound, the humans begged for our help. In most cases, we obliged willingly. Elves during this time always spoke in a language that could be understood by any living being. In that language which is sadly now even forgotten by us surviving elves, quite a few unfortunate elves made the mistake of saying 'at your service' when they were introduced. This allowed the mortal to summon the elf at any moment for this forgotten language was a binding and controlling one. If something was said in it, it was either already true or made true.

"Humans began to abuse this. Eventually, a group of witches and wizards decided to _hunt _us like we were animals. The targeted elf would have no idea of the evil intent of the wizard or witch and would reply in a similar fashion to what the mortal said. In other words, the mortal would introduce themselves using 'at your service' and the elf would reply using that phrase too. Suddenly, that poor elf was bond to that mortal for all eternity.

"Mortals then would auction us off to the highest bidders who were mainly noble or wealthy wizarding families. Those elves were forced to become slaves of every sort. They replaced mortal servants and slaves, and they were very low maintenance. The imprisoned elves rebelled, but they were stricken down by magic and by the promise that they themselves had condemned themselves to keep. The thing that the mortals did not expect was an elf named Beriothien to create what you may call a 'catch.' He cast a powerful spell in the forgotten language that freed an enslaved elf if it was given clothing. Many elves were freed because of his noble deed, yet he was forced to pay for this. Beriothien was executed soon after by his master.

"Over time, the elves—not being able to return to the Immortal Realm—began to change. They were transfigured into what you know as house elves. They shrunk and lost their beauty along with their immortality. It is true that the house elves still have quite long life spans for a mortal being, yet they still die. It was a horrendous end to so many noble elves," Cardinix finished.

"That _is _horrendous," Ashanti said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I know this is kinda, like, not at all like what we were just talking about," Ali said, "but is it true that elves are, like, better at archery than centaurs?"

Cardinix laughed in her unusual yet musical way. "Indeed! Of course, the rivalry between elves and centaurs is merely… friendly. We have nothing against our fellow Immortals." Phoenix snorted. The elf just smiled at her. To Ali, she asked, "Do you wish me to show the practice fields?"

Everyone nodded so their Elven host led them back out of the building and to a large field. At one part of the field, archers stood aiming at targets with remarkable accuracy. Farther down were a couple different terrains with elves sparring one another. Cardinix smirked at Phoenix.

"Oh, Cardi, no! I don't want to!" Phoenix protested without the elf even saying anything.

Cardinix walked over to a male elf and spoke to him in their language. The elf nodded to her and passed his bow and quiver to her. Cardinix gestured Phoenix over, but she all the while stood rooted in her position shaking her head. "Phoenix, come!" Cardinix shouted at her.

"Do I have to, Cardi?" Phoenix complained.

Cardinix smiled at Phoenix. "Of course you do," she said sweetly.

She continued to whine. "But I'm going to be horrible! I was lucky I even didn't get beheaded when we were sparring before!"

"That would be your problem," the elf said simply.

Phoenix gave her a dark glare before heading over. What she did next was as if it were second nature to her. She nocked the arrow, pulled back the string, aimed, and released. The arrow flew quite straight and hit near the bulleye.

Phoenix sighed. "That was lacking but are you happy now?" she asked annoyed. Cardinix smiled and nodded.

"You have not changed at all," the male elf said.

"No, I haven't," Phoenix said. Then she froze, completely froze. She muttered something in the Elvish language. No one answered her so she practically yelled in English, "I thought you said you got rid of them all!"

"Rid of what?" Cardinix asked and followed Phoenix's gaze. She, too, temporarily froze, and her almond shaped eyes widened. "We did."

Now all the archers redirected their aim at the large shadow at the forest's edge. "What is it?" Ginny asked nervously. A huge spider slowly crawled out of the shadows of the forest.

"It's a SPIDER!" Ron shrieked. Just then, the spider charged forward. The elves released their arrows, but it kept coming, even with arrows lodged into its body. "It's from the Immortal Realm!" Cardinix yelled, taking charge of the situation at hand.

"I thought immortals _can_ die from a mortal wound. Why is it not dying?" Ami asked worriedly.

"It's just harder to kill immortals…" Phoenix answered shakily. "It takes _a lot _more effort."

Harry noticed that her skin was pale, and her eyes were wide. "Phoenix, are you afraid of spiders?" he asked.

"Terrified," she answered somewhat in a daze.

"Phoenix! Snap out of it and enchant the arrow!" Cardinix yelled at her from the midst of the action.

Phoenix shook her head and came out of her daze. She pulled out her wand and cast a spell on an arrow. Then she nocked the arrow the bow she was still holding. She was ready to shoot when she whistled loudly. The spider stopped attacking an elf and turned towards her. It ran at her, but Phoenix didn't move. _Probably because she is so afraid,_ Harry thought.

The spider was very large, perhaps seven or eight feet tall. It was extraordinarily hairy. Its many eyes were all focused on Phoenix with a hungry gaze. Its pincers snapped loudly. Phoenix released the enchanted arrow. It flew straight through the spider. The spider stopped dead in its tracks. Everything was dead quiet. Then the spider collapsed to the ground along with Phoenix.

After a moment, Fred walked over to Phoenix and crouched down next to her. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "I just hate spiders; that's all." She was shaking as she sat up.

By the group of witches and wizards, Kelly asked, "Is it dead?"

Ali said, layered with sarcasm, "No, it's gonna get up and kill us all."

"Are you okay, Ron?" Hermione asked, concerned.

Ron's eyes were wide and distant; he was breathing fast. Then he looked at her. It looked as if he just now (a few seconds later) heard the question and nodded rapidly.

"What about Phoenix? Is she going to be okay?" Harry asked.

Ashanti answered, "She should be."

Amianda nodded but said, "Yes but… she _is _terribly afraid of spiders."

Ashanti said, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean that she's going to die of fright. God! We're all afraid of stuff!"

"Hers are just extreme… that's all." Ami shrugged.

"Why are they so 'extreme?'" Ginny questioned.

"She's had a very bad experience with each of them," Ami replied.

"What are they?" Hermione asked curiously.

"The Seven Fears of Phoenix," George said seriously. At people's confused looks, he added, "That what she called them when she told us about them… a year ago, actually."

Kelly nodded. "That's what they're called. Spiders, werewolves, vampires, dementors, darkness, pain, and deaths of others," she rattled off.

Not even a moment later, Phoenix and Fred rejoined the group. Phoenix quickly said, "Okay, we're going back to England." With that, she turned on her heels and strode back towards the path.

* * *

A/N: WHOOP! I got this chapter done! I'm soooo proud of myself. Yeah, so now this chapter – contrary to what I said earlier – is quite important cause it has quite a few plot points in it. HUZZAH! PLOT POINTS! So like I said, I hope you guys all like it… please comment cuz that's the only way I'll _know _if you liked it or not. 


End file.
